Protect And Watch Service
by 10000reasons
Summary: The world is never safe. Even when your home. In a world where dangers of terrorism, hostage crisis, and suicidal attacks plague the minds of people an organization, the P.A.W.S, takes up the calls of life risking crises. Join the P.A.W.S' best squad as they go through dramatic emotional, and heart-aching tasks to protect the City of Adventure Bay. Inspired by Flashpoint humanized.
1. Chapter 1: PAWS

This story is just a test. I hope you like it.

X X X X

"When you're on the line and everything you say counts, what do you try to do? Do you bargain with the person? Bribe perhaps? Or maybe you'll try to talk them down. When it comes to the P. A.W. S Tactical Teams, you don't try any of these tactics. So what is it that they do that makes them so great, so trustworthy? It's their ability to relate. They relate with the man who lost a friend, they relate with the divorced woman who doesn't want to part with her children, they relate to the people who are angry because someone has wronged them. All these and more. It's to the people, who live in this very circle of love, hate, anger, and so on but have taken it to the radical levels, they relate. Why do they relate? Because they've been there. They knew what it was like. They know why it was like that. So why did that make them so great? Because everyone tends to believe that there all alone. And loneliness is among men's and women's worst enemy, if not self-doubt. Loneliness is the root of our hatred, of our violence. Loneliness, is why we need to make that big scene with a gun, knife, with gas, or even with a bomb. Because we want people to get it. To know… And that is what is so great about the P.A.W.S. Because they know…they understand..."

The woman gave a curt not as if to thank the reporters who were listening to her speech. Cameras flashed brighter than muzzle flashes, questions were asked louder than orders; her title was used to reference her more than her name. The security tried to keep the reporters back and help the lady get back stage. There, waiting for her, was a man dressed in a suit.

"How'd I do, Ryder?" She asked.

Ryder chuckled, "It could have used more, but you got the basic drama of it."

"Says the man who wrote it," Was the reply.

"It was late at night; I didn't have much time," He defended.

She laughed and went down to a whisper, "Probably would have had more time if you didn't take me to dinner."

Ryder smiled, "It was worth it."

She giggled and left with the security to get to her limo. He followed her, just in case.

"You will remember to again, won't you?" She asked.

"Well tonight's not going to work. Tomorrow at twenty-one hundred thirty, right?" He said with a mischievous grin.

She glared at him knowing full well he said that to spite her, "Ryder."

Ryder put up his hands, "Okay, nine thirty pm. It's the same thing, anyway."

She looked at him tipping her aviator shades and replied, "That's not my jurisdiction. I wasn't in the marines."

She took a seat in the limo and got comfortable. A guard almost closed it when Ryder obliged for him.

"I know. Hey, Katie."

She looked up at him with smile. He smiled back for a moment to view her.

Finally, he whispered, "Happy birthday," and slipped something into her lap without anyone accept her knowing, "And I was navy."

She smiled brightly and the door was closed. Ryder pat the limo twice and it went on its way. Ryder watched the car drive off before he shook his head and left for his apartment. Tomorrow was an early rise and possible job. He probably shouldn't have stayed up this late. The camera flashes were beginning to give him a headache. He could barely see.

It was then when something hit him, a realization: "So that's why she wears sunglasses at night."

X

Ryder entered the P.A.W.S HQ to his team having a conversation. The whole team but one was doing some workouts.

"So, when it comes to the M-4 versus the M-16 what to you guys think is better?" Asked one.

"Put that conversation on hold," Ryder called after entering the two layers of automatic doors.

"Ryder!" The team called.

"How've you been doing?" Asked one.

"I'm good, I'm good," Ryder smiled.

He took out a checklist and called a name, "Okay, Chase Roberts!"

"Here!"

"Marshall Benton?"

"Here, Sir!"

"Skye Heffron?"

"Right here, Ryder."

"Rocky Balboa!"

Rocky almost raised his hand, "You serious, Ryder?"

The team laughed at him and Ryder corrected himself, "Rocky McClellan."

"Yeah, I'm here."

"Zuma Dakota!"

"Here, Ryder!" He raised his hand.

"Rubble Johnston!"

"Here, Ryder!"

"And Radar Malarkey."

"Over here boss!" Said the one member not working.

"Okay, so we all made it again," Ryder smiled, "That's good to see. Last time, Zuma was late."

The team laughed and pointed at him with an "ooh". Marshall pat his back and Rocky messed with his brown hair.

"I have a good excuse. All I did was take a wrong turn…"

"Into Porter's restaurant?" Rubble finished his sentence but not accurately.

None the less the team laughed. Zuma laughed too but detested.

"No! I just went on Main Street instead of Beaver Trail, Okay! I forgot we weren't meeting in the EMT building!"

"Well he's here now," Marshall laughed, "So that's all I need."

"Thank you, Marshall. Is he the only one who appreciates me? What I do for this team? If I'm not working hard enough, or not getting enough shots in the tail-end for this team, just let me know. I mean, come on!"

The team laughed some more. The event he referenced was during a job. He had tried to take off in a run away from some maniac—who somehow disarmed him—with a gun and ended up getting shot in the lower left gluteus. The team never let the moment go. Of course, the story was longer than that.

"Okay, you guys can return to your exercises…"

"Never stopped, boss," Rocky smiled.

"I can see that, Balboa," Ryder pointed, "Anyway, keep up the good work. I'm gonna change then join up with you."

As Ryder left, the team cheered Rocky on, still calling him Balboa each time. Ryder changed quickly then came back out just in time for Radar to freak out.

"We got a 911 call! Downtown! City Hall! Man armed with a gun holding Mayor Goodway hostage!"

"You heard the man, gear up!" Ryder called.

The team reacted quickly but organized, grabbing their weapons, armor, and pack and equipping them. They quickly loaded into three trucks and drove off. Radar drove one by himself, Ryder, Chase, Skye, and Zuma were in another, and Marshall drove the last one with Rocky and Rubble. The team stopped hard to see a large group of people gathering around the area. Mayor Goodway was stuck in a large man's arms. He shouted in a foreign language and pointed a gun at her. Sometimes he was point it at the audience. Police cars stopped the people from coming in too close. The Police pointed their sidearms at the man ready to open fire if they had to.

"There you are, good timing," Said an agent, "He is completely insane: he's speaking in tongues, waving his gun around, and we don't know if he's going to shoot or not. Can you get through to him?"

"We'll soon find out," Ryder said taking the megaphone before calling out orders, "Chase I want you up on the building as sniper. Radar you know your job. Everyone else, make sure he doesn't try anything and has nowhere to go, secure the perimeter. Marshall, follow Chase, cover him or replace him if you have to. Bring another rifle. We might need it."

"Got it, boss," Everyone called.

Ryder turned to the Agent and asked, "Who is this guys?"

"His name is Ajshe Ditmir. We don't know what he is speaking and we have no idea what he wants," The agent replied.

Ryder took the megaphone and called for Ajshe, "Ajshe! Listen, my name is Ryder, I'm here to help you."

Apparently, he had no idea what he was saying and shouted at him, his gun being pointed at him forcefully. Ryder ducked behind a car and the citizens screamed and dropped to the ground. Ryder nearly cursed to himself seeing the display.

"Chase, where are you on that position?" He asked.

"Marshall and I are climbing up a few flights of stairs. Trying to get to the roof now," Chase replied.

"Hurry," Ryder rushed, "Radar, what is he saying?"

"I don't know boss, I can only speak French," Radar waved his arms and tried to click on his keys faster, "Okay, I think I know what he's speaking. It… it might be Albanian."

"Any background on him?"

Radar was silent for a bit longer, "Yeah, okay, he was a combat engineer in the Albanian army but at the end of his enlistment moved to Adventure Bay with his son Alban. He was diagnose with cancer on…holy crap, that was yesterday!"

"So what is he doing, is he angry, is he upset, or is he doing this as a message for some group?"

"I don't know," Radar shook his head, "I don't see anything in his accounts. He doesn't even have an E-mail."

"Ryder, I have a clear shot, should I take it?" Skye asked.

"No! No, we need to try to relate and disarm him. Let's do this as clean as possible. Radar, give me something to say!"

"Okay, uh, say _:_ _Emri im është Ryder , unë jam këtu për të ndihmuar_. That means what you just said before, boss."

"Okay," Ryder nodded and stood up, " _Emri im është Ryder , unë jam këtu për të ndihmuar_!"

The man seemed to understand but look angrier and pointed again. Mayor Goodway squealed and he growled something to her.

"What did he just say?" Ryder asked.

"He called you a… it was an insult," Radar replied, "He doesn't seem to want any help; I can't find social accounts on him. We might not be able to accomplish this one, boss."

"We can't just give up," Rubble said.

"Boss, were set and ready," Marshall called.

"Okay, stand by you two."

X X X

Chase and Marshall raced up the stairs and finally made it to the roof door. Chase pointed to a side of the roof and they ran to it.

"Rifle," Chase snapped his fingers.

Marshall loaded one and loaded his own then called Ryder, "Boss, were set and ready."

"Okay, stand by you two," He replied.

"Roger, standing by," Marshall replied.

"You think I'm gonna have to shoot?" Chase asked.

"God knows," Marshall replied, "I just pray you don't."

"We don't even know this guy," Chase sighed, "Or where he comes from. He could be a terrorist for all we know."

"I have a hunch he's just angry at the law and got mayor Goodway at a good time…or bad," Marshall sighed.

He cocked his bolt and rested the rifle on the side of the roof. He kept his sub machine gun close to make sure there was nothing coming up from the stares.

"That's it, stay still for me," Chase said to himself, "That's it. Oh no no no, don't move… There we go just like that."

"You make it sound like you want to shoot him," Marshall would have said but kept himself quite. He wouldn't want to offend his friend. Instead he asked another question.

"So, how are you and Skye doing?"

Chase didn't turn away but answered, "Were taking it slow, quietly. I figured since you sniffed us out pretty fast we ought to."

"How did she take me knowing?" Marshall grinned.

Chase laughed and replied, "She took it surprisingly well. You're like an older brother to her, Marshall. I think she trusts you most."

"Yeah, well, I try to be like that for everyone. You did it to me, it's only fair I pass it on," Marshall smiled.

Chase chuckled again and replied, "You have Ryder to thank then. So, how about you?"

"Me?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, Rubble's married off, Zuma's got a girlfriend, that will actually stay with him, Rocky's hit off as well, Skye and I are together, and even Radar's got a nerd for a girlfriend and I have to say he has an interesting taste in girls. She makes Skye look like a goddess."

Marshall and Chase laughed but it died down after a while. Marshall was silent for most of the time.

"I haven't found anyone yet, I guess. It's just… too complicated to get a girl. Maybe… there isn't anyone out there for me. Better just not try."

"Bull crap, there's always someone," Chase shook his head, "You just need time. Just wait, you'll get someone before you know it."

"Sure," Marshall replied but not convincingly.

Just then, the subject just turned violent again, but didn't shoot. Chase snapped into action and almost shot.

Just then he heard the code words, "Chase, Scorpio."

Chase took his safety off and lined up his shot. He put his finger on the trigger but something else happened.

"Wait wait! Stop! Stop, I think we have a solution!"

X X X

Ryder watched as a young aged man was crying and shouted at the older, violent one. Rubble was stopping him from getting too close.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, stay back, kid!

" _Baba_! _Babai, ju lutem mos e bëjnë këtë_!" He cried.

"What did he say?" Ryder asked.

"He said, 'dad, dad, please don't do this,'" Radar replied, "That's his son!"

" _Alban? Çfarë jeni duke bërë të dal nga këtu unë nuk dua që ju të shihni këtë!_ " Replied the man.

"There comunicating, we might be able to stop him. We need to utalize his son. Rubble see what you can do," Ryder called.

"On the double, Ryder. Listen, Alban, is that your dad?" Rubble asked.

"He is my dad," He cried, "Please! Don't hurt him!"

"We won't; we'll do our best, but we need your help. We need you to talk to him and try to get him to stand down. Why is he doing this? What does this have to do with his cancer?"

" _Baba! Të lutem!_ _Baba_!"

"Please, listen to me, listen to me," Rubble tried to get his attention back, "We need to know what your father is doing this for. Why is he doing this? Does this have something to do with his cancer?"

"I don't know, please just don't hurt him!" Alban cried.

"Rubble, is he cooperating?" Skye asked.

"No, he's too worried, we might have it out of our hands; I can't get through to him. He says he doesn't even know," Rubble sighed.

Alban spoke up once more, " _Babi, nuk e bëjmë këtë më, vetëm të heqë dorë në mënyrë që ju mund të vijnë në shtëpi!_ "

The man stared at him teary eyed and replied, " _Unë nuk mund të shkojnë në shtëpi_."

He pointed the gun at Ryder and Ryder ducked, "Chase, Scorpio!"

" _Jo! Baba!_ " Alban ran towards his father and Chase took aim.

He squeezed the trigger and heard the shell go off, but saw Alban cross in front. It startled him and he lost his target.

"What happened? Did you miss?" Marshall asked.

Marshall looked through his rifle scope and aimed, looking around for the target. Chase did the same and finally found Alban crying over his father's body. A sigh of relief came but a wave a dread followed. He had just orphaned a kid and there was no knowing if he too would become a subject one day. The realization hit him. He had orphaned someone. He had just killed a father.

Marshall put his rifle down, seeing the same thing, "Kill confirmed. Good shot."

"Yeah, thanks," Chase said weakly.

He couldn't stop staring at Alban. Zuma and Rocky tried to peal him away and took a while to succeed. Finally, Chase got up and packed up his rifle with Marshall. The two walked down the stairs together. There was no conversations exchanged. Meanwhile, Radar was finishing the report and powering down the computer van. He sighed as soon as he was done and took out the USB to give to Ryder.

"Here it is, Boss, ever detail, nook, and cranny," He said dully.

"Thanks, Radar," Ryder sighed.

He looked back at the body, that the paramedics were removing, and sighed again. Some of the medics were checking Mayor Goodway for injury. This was the worst part of their job.

"Let's finish up here and pack up!" Ryder said on the coms.

It took them a couple of hours to get everything organized then return to the HQ. Ryder had taken the report to the staff in charge which later on came down to the team with a few agents.

"Mr. Roberts?" One of them asked.

Chase stood up, "Sir?"

"We have to put you under custody for the time being," He said motioning the agents with a few crates, "Your gear and weapons will be confiscated as evidence."

Skye interfered, "You have to be kidding. He had to take that shot, there was no choice!"

"The law will decide that, Miss Heffron. Roberts, if you would, please put your gear in the bins and hand over the rifle used to take the shot."

"Yes sir," Chase nodded dully.

Even now he still felt the impact of orphaning someone. The team shook their heads and continued to gear down as ordered. Skye, however, was a bit nervous. These security checks were a big risk for the entire team. They wouldn't be disbanded, but the possibility of losing a member was unpredictable. Though kill shots could be justified, they might not have the right story or defense and the member was forced off the team and into court for unnecessary taking of life. That was probably the nicest way they could say "charged for murder".

Chase began to unstrap his armor, boots, disconnect his communicator; even his belt and pack had to go. He sent for Marshall to get the rifle he used to shoot the subject. He was then taken away for questioning. Of course, he would have an attorney of their choice. However, some stories just can't come across right.

As soon as Chase and the agents were gone Skye began to complain to herself, "Why do they always have to do this? They should have read the report, he had to!"

Marshall, overhearing her, answered, "It's just security measures, Skye. We can't just shoot everyone that waves a gun around."

Skye, flustered, argued with him, "He was going to fire!"

"How do you know? He pointed the gun several times, each time he could have fired but didn't. We didn't even know why he was doing that."

"Marshall, were you even watching?" She glared.

Marshall froze and didn't reply. He sighed and fixed his stance but remained silent. She had a point, after all.

"Exactly," She shook her head.

"Hey," He grabbed her before she left, "I don't like it either; I almost got kicked off this team because of it. But you have to understand: that guy had a kid. Chase knew that and its taking its toll on him. This custody check is good. It'll give him time to muddle through it and think about it. Besides, I'm sure he's curious to know whether or not he's innocent."

Skye was silent for a moment but replied eventually, "He is innocent."

"And I agree with you," Marshall nodded, "But I think he needs to hear them say it. I knew I did. What about you?"

Skye scoffed softly and quietly but not as an insult. Her thoughts ran through thinking about his words.

She had eventually said softly, "You know just as well as I do that I never had to go through checkups. I haven't killed anyone now, and I'm praying I never had to do it ever."

"Exactly," Marshall nodded, "And that's why I'm here. That's why Chase is here. Why everyone is here. We all hope that you or anyone won't have to. When I killed my first guy when I was in the army I felt guilty. I signed on to save lives, not take them. But we never get what we want. Here, how about this, I'll go in, request permission to give a statement of defense, and tell them my side. I'm sure if they know it it will help."

Skye smiled looked down. Marshall smiled giving her a look.

"Come on, where is it?"

Skye looked up and rolled her eyes, "Thanks, Marshall, you're the best."

"There it is," Marshall nodded, "Okay, I'll go see what I can do."

"Marshall…"

Marshall turned, "Yup?"

"Really, thank you. That really means a lot to me," She smiled.

Marshall shrugged and put up his arms, "Hey, what can I say? I'm…"

Before he could finish he ran into Radar, knocking over his paperwork and accidently knocking over a figure on his desk. Marshall found himself on the ground after.

"Ey! Watch it, doc! I just got this all organized!" Radar Groaned.

"S-sorry, Radar," Marshall picked himself up and tried to help Radar.

When they finished Radar put the sloppy stack on his desk and looked around. He noticed his figure was gone. He looked around in panic and finally found it… in the trash can.

"My baby!" Radar quickly took the figure out and glared at Marshall.

"Sorry," Marshall chuckled nervously.

Skye, in the meantime, was enjoying the whole scene. She laughed as Radar took the figure to the bathroom for cleaning. Marshall tried to keep a smile on as Radar left. Skye kept her hand on her mouth to try and hide her amusement. Marshall cleared his throat and asked excused himself from the scene.

"Hey, Skye," Zuma approached.

"Yes?" She asked.

"Ryder is treating everyone to Porter's Restaurant. Want to come?"

Skye thought a moment and looked though the doors containing Marshall and Chase. She didn't want to leave them, but she knew they would be alright. Thus she agreed.

"Sure, why not. Be sure to let Marshall and Chase know. The two look like they could use a smoothie or something."

"You got it," Zuma saluted, "Rocky's gotta seat open in his car, so you can travel with him."

"I… will… do that," Skye smiled.

Zuma passed her up and looked through the window to see if Marshall or Chase were able to be approached. Naturally, they weren't. So he waited. In the meantime, Skye took her leave and traveled with the rest of the squad to Mr. Porter's Restaurant. When they got there it was a bit packed.

"Hey, Ryder," Mr. Porter greeted.

He had just noticed them after hearing the door open. Ryder waved back at him and shook his hand as soon as he got close enough.

"Good evening, Mr. Porter. How's business?"

Mr. Porter shrugged, "Business could be better, but I'm managing well. I wish that grandson of mine would just get his head in work and stop dozing off."

"Dozing off, huh? Not very invested in his job?" Rubble asked.

Mr. Porter chuckled, "Well, let's just say he's spent more time dreaming about joining the P.A.W.S then baking cakes or blending smoothies. However, he has an exceptional skill at grilling. At least he has one talent I can rely on."

"Every little bit helps, right?" Rocky remarked.

"Yes, indeed, every little bit," Mr. Porter agreed, "What can I get you fellas this evening?"

"The usual," Ryder replied, "Zuma, Marshall, and Chase will be late, though. So, hold off on their orders until they get here."

"Coming right up," He smiled.

The group took their seats and settled in to wait for their orders. Rubble started the conversation this time.

"So, today's job was… interesting."

Ryder scoffed, "If you could call it that. We still took someone down."

Rocky shook his head, "It didn't even look like we had a choice, though."

Skye agreed, "Yeah, and Marshall tells me Chase is taking it a bit harder than normal."

"Marshall and Chase," Radar sighed, "Those two have been friends since the special forces and they're still getting each other's back. Not to mention their shots are dead on. Gotta wonder if that's a blessing or a curse."

Rubble nodded, "You either kill the guy and carry that with you, or you don't and feel responsible."

Ryder sighed, and spaced off. He couldn't help but think about the two eldest and most experienced members he had. They never took killing well. That had been why Marshall had taken to being a medic. Chase was a little more used to it being he was a sniper. But the two were always there for each other.

"Well! On a lighter thought," Skye smiled to get rid of the melancholy, "How's everyone on their relationships?"

"Yeah, how are you and Shelby doing, Rubble?" Rocky added.

Rubble chuckled and smiled, "Pretty good. She needs to learn to turn off the lights before getting into bed though."

The group laughed. Rocky clapped his hands and put his forehead on his folded hands.

"So, your saying you do it with the lights on?" Radar asked in a chuckled fit.

Rubble hid his face and replied quietly, "No! No! God No! That's not what I'm saying at all! I'm saying she has a bad habit of getting into bed while I'm half asleep and asking me to turn off the lights. She's right by the light switch too!"

Skye laughed and asked, "How about you, Rocky?"

Rocky shrugged, "Rosita is pretty good. She's five months pregnant now."

"So, you were busy," Ryder jested.

The group laughed. Rocky shrugged and took his drink from Mr. Porter.

"Yes, I was. We don't know how many or what she's got. I heard she might be up for triplets."

Skye's eyes popped, "Triplets? Are you serious?"

"She won't tell me up front," Rocky replied taking a drink, "But she hinted at it. Three, right off the bat."

"Whoo, that's pretty good," Rubble chuckled.

Everyone looked at Radar with Rocky asking, "What about you, Nerd?"

"Nerd, eh? Well, turns out Brie went to comic-con without me. Said she couldn't miss this one. Forgot why but anyway. She wanted to wait for me but I told her that it was best to just go. I wasn't going to make it."

"Well, the job is asking a lot," Rocky shrugged.

"And we have to stay on it," Ryder agreed.

Radar nodded in understanding. He typed his glass a bit before taking a drink from it and popping his lips.

"Oh, she also won a Smash Bros. tournament. Won a golden Mario amiibo. She was crazy about that thing."

"Oh, she go bragging about it to you?" Skye asked.

"Yes, in fact, she did. She tried to pull out every compliment I had. Of course, I gave as many as I could that made the moment the best for her."

Ryder tilted his head, "You say that as if your missing her. I don't mean that by distance."

Radar scoffed and replied, "Nah, don't worry about it. How about you, boss? Katie playing hard to catch or is she bighting."

Ryder chuckled and replied, "Oh. She's bighting. Were having dinner this afternoon. Nine thirty."

"Ooh, where are you taking her?" Skye asked, listening intently.

Ryder shrugged, "She'll decide this time, I think. What about you Skye? How are you and your boyfriend doing?"

"Oh, uh… He's overseas right now," Skye replied seeming to be a bit surprised at the question.

"Overseas?" Ryder asked, "He's military?"

"Yeah," Skye nodded.

"Hey, dudes!" Zuma's voice interrupted.

Skye sighed in relief. Fortunately, no one noticed.

"Hello, Zuma," Skye smiled, "Were just giving sit-reps about our relationships."

Zuma nodded, "Mm, good stuff. Marshall and Chase'll be in just a minute. Marshall accidently dumped the contents of someone's takeout all over the cement."

"What is it with his luck?" Radar shook his head, "It's like even the staplers are trying to get him. People's takeout food is trying to get him."

Ryder laughed, "Yeah, I can see that now. Death by suffocation. Murder weapon: stir fry noodle."

The table laughed. Chase and Marshall rushed over.

"Sorry were late, guys," Marshall apologized, "I had to help someone reload their sack of... whatever that was."

Chase shook his head and shrugged. Marshall shrugged it off as well and took a seat.

"So, what are we talking about?"

Zuma stretched and got himself comfortable into his seat before replying, "Relationship Sit-rep."

Chase nodded and confirmed he understood. Marshall shook his head as if he wasn't interested.

"So, how are they?" Skye asked, "Who's going first."

Marshall and Chase looked at Zuma. He rolled his eyes in response.

"Fine. Rosie and I are doing pretty good, but she's moving away. Her mother has stage four cancer and needs her help. So, she's going to do that and I'm going to have Rosie withdraws."

The table laughed again but Skye fawned, "Aw, Zuma, you sweetheart."

"Yup, she thought the exact same thing too. She promised to come back when there was improvement or… the other thing. And I promised I would wait."

The group nodded in agreement and applauded him. Everyoen looked at Marshall and Chase.

"Chase?"

Chase shifted in discomfort and replied, "I'd rather not talk about it."

"Trouble?" Rocky asked.

"Nothing I think she'd want me to talk about," Chase replied.

Rocky nodded and turned to Marshall, who was trying to hide in some way. He chuckled and looked at the other members of the group.

Skye giggled and asked, "Well, Marshall? Any progress yet?"

Marshall scratched the back of his neck and cleared his throat, "Um, no, not yet."

The table sighed and groaned. Some, like Ryder, smiled.

Rubble was the first to Remark, "You must be kidding."

"No, I'm not," Marshall smiled sheepishly, "To tell you the truth, I haven't even bothered with all the work needing to be done. Y'know?"

A sigh came from Zuma, "You know, dude? I think I know what your problem is."

Marshall looked at him and lifted an eyebrow, "Oh? Uh, what would that be?"

Zuma accepted his drink form Mr. Porter and took a sip before saying, "You're too shy."

Rocky lifted a finger, "I concur; you just won't try. You probably can't even talk to girls."

"He talks to me," Skye defended him.

"Yeah, but your like… family. To us and to him," Rocky countered, "Besides, he has to talk to you every day. I would think he at least would get used to getting a girl."

"Well, maybe we should just give him some space."

Chase gulped down half his glass and added, "We do ask him every day. I think he just doesn't want to think about it right now. Ain't that right, Marshall? Besides, maybe he was scared away Tish."

"God she was a nightmare," Marshall cringed making the group laugh.

"Who was Tish?" Ryder asked.

"You don't know who Tish was?" Chase asked.

"None of us do, Chase," Rubble replied, "You guys never even mentioned a Tish."

Marshall sighed and replied, "Tish was Chase's Brother's ex-girlfrend."

" _Ex_ -girlfriend?" Zuma stressed.

"She was a complete control freak," Chase laughed, "She challenged my brother's moxie and he took the bait. After that, he regretted even trying to fight for his dignity. 'My dignity ain't worth this relationship,' he told me."

The table laughed and listened on, "And I supported him. Marshall was still a single guy then. Probably more than now if that's possible."

"No, I don't think it is," Radar shook his head making the group laugh again.

"But, yeah, she was in dire need of a beating if only she were a kid. My little brother, Casey, never rushed into another relationship again."

The group applauded. Ryder smiled and remained silent still.

"So, is he in one now? A relationship, of course," Skye asked in interest.

Chase nodded, "Yup, he's got a girl that's actually good for him. Brings out the pros in is cons and beats out the bad habits. She is the discipline I wish my mother gave him. I like her way better than Tish. She was one of those feminists that didn't make sense. Had too many weird beliefs."

"Pamela, right?" Marshall asked.

"Yup, that's her," Chase nodded, "Pamela Roberts."

"She sounds nice," Skye smiled.

"She is," Chase agreed, "You'd love her. So, speaking of siblings, how's your brother Marshall?"

"Still the toughest son of a gun that I know," Marshall replied, "He's gone through Recon Marine, Ranger Regiment, Airborne, Seals, Delta, and now he just got accepted in the Black Ops."

"You have to be kidding me!" Radar almost shouted, "That's a military guy's fantasy to do! I'm surprised he would do that."

Marshall chuckled, "I wasn't surprised. Chief has always been so much tougher than me and Maria."

"Oh, how is Maria doing?" Skye jumped.

"She's fine. She just got married," Marshall smiled, "His name is Bentley, Bentley Allamang. The guy's a detective."

"Oh, well, good for her."

Ryder looked at his watch, "Well, it's been good today guys. I'm glad you're all doing well. I hope to see you all tomorrow. Especially you, Zuma."

"Again? Come on, it was just a wrong turn!"

The group continued to tease him, but Ryder paid the check and left. Ryder smiled while leaving. In a few hours he had a dinner to get to.


	2. Chapter 2: Coincidental Relations

It was early morning, about 06:00 hours, that Chase was making breakfast for himself. He heard a knock on his door. He put down what he was doing and answered it.

"Morning," Smiled Skye.

Chase smiled back and replied, "Good Morning, Skye. Please, come in."

He stepped aside and let her through, taking her to his dining table. His apartment was small, just three rooms: a kitchen with a dining table and four chairs, living room with a sofa and TV, and a bedroom, which had the only bathroom. It was a pretty nice place, rent was cheap, and there were no real problems. Ants were unavoidable, though. The TV was a flat screen that was only fourteen inches. Connected was just a PS4 and a VCR, which he received from Radar.

"So, what are we having this morning?" Skye asked.

Chase shrugged returning to his task, "The usual, I think. Unless you speak up now."

Skye shook her head, "Usual's good. Then I can have more of that smoothie you make."

Chase chuckled and looked at his watch, "Oh, I'd better change. Wouldn't want to get a late start today."

He dropped his utensils and walked to his room. He didn't notice Skye following. As soon as he grabbed the edges of his shirt he had noticed her.

"Do you mind?" He asked waiting for her to leave.

"No, not at all," She grinned, "Go on."

Chase sighed and turned around. They've been together long enough; he didn't mind too much, but it was awkward, in a sense. After he had removed the shirt he went to put on his P.A.W.S T when she stopped him, turned him around, and removed distance between their lips. The kiss was gentle, not meant to take too much time. But the longer it lasted the more they wanted. Skye slowly led Chase to his bed without removing herself from him. His back met the mattress as he finally lost room. The kiss began to intensify a bit. Skye moaned and played with Chase's hair. Then…

*knock knock knock*

"Oh! Crap!" Skye rolled off the bed and under it.

Chase quickly but his shirt on and slipped on some cargos then went or the door. When he opened it he was finishing by tying his belt.

"Chase, good morning," Marshall smiled.

"Marshall, come on in," Chase chuckled, "It's okay, Skye, it's just Marshall."

Marshall lifted an eyebrow and looked into her room. Her little head poked over the bed and revealed she was hiding.

She sighed and chuckled, "Marshall, good to see you."

"Was I… never mind. Good to see you too. Keeping a low profile, I see."

"Yeah, you can't be too careful," Chase scratched his head and returning to his cooking.

Skye took a seat and relaxed, "So, what brings you here, Marshall?"

"My oath-brother," Marshall returned, "Always have breakfast in the morning together, so. Of course, now that I know you guys hang out more, I might just give you some space."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to destroy any traditions," Skye detested.

Marshall sputtered and assured her, "Nonsense! Gives me time to look for a date on my lonesome. After all, just because he's my oath-brother doesn't mean he knows my taste."

"It was one honest mistake, how was I supposed to know the she was a he? I mean, I respect his life choice, but I respect yours too," Chase defended.

"Yeah, uh huh," Marshall nodded slowly, "Anyway, I was just saying that it would be a good idea for you two to take some time not have a third wheel. I don't mind covering for you guys, but I just think it's time to have some alone time."

"That's sweet of you, Marshall, you're the best," Skye hugged him.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Marshall wrapped an arm around her, "But, save the hugs for him."

"Will do," She nodded, releasing him.

Skye looked at her boyfriend and her unofficial brother, taking a moment to be thankful for what she had. Life couldn't get much better than now. But a simple mission, and this could be over.

X

Zuma tapped on his computer, watching the screen's messages. He was chatting with Rosie, who was now on the mainland. She was talking about how boring it was and how she had wished to be back with him. He smiled and replied with the best words he could find for the situation.

 _So, how's Omaha?_ He asked.

A few minutes passed, _Ugh, don't get me started. I like the mountains but I hate the heat. It's really boring here too._

Zuma chuckled and typed, _Is it in the city or the country?_

There were a few second before she replied, _The middle of nowhere. XD_

He chuckled and shook his head. Zuma stared at the keyboard before continuing.

 _Is your mother okay?_

There was a long pause before she replied, _She's getting worse. I don't think she's going to make it. Everyone I've asked for help hasn't responded or can't. Zuma, I'm scared. Scared for her, for the next surgery. For everything._

Zuma sighed and typed back, _Rosie, your mother is the strongest old lady and toughest Christian I've ever seen. She has a faith that influences even me. I'm not so much of a religious man, but I believe that God is going to do what He knows is best. You mother always preached that to me. I she doesn't make it, it's because God wants her now._

There was a big pause then. He was almost afraid he didn't get his words right. He told the truth, he actually didn't like religion. But the way Rosie's mother talked to him always had a charismatic effect.

 _I love you Zuma.:3_

He chuckled and replied, _I love you too. Remember, I can always pay for any bill you send me, I've been keeping an account just in case._

The message didn't take too long this time, _Really?_

 _Yes, I have. I already invested a good $623,444. It's all ready for her when she needs it. I know how expensive these things get._

There was no reply for what seemed like an hour to Zuma. He wanted so badly to help. He didn't care if he had to get fired from his job. Rosie and her family changed him for the better. He wasn't about to give it up just for some dream job that could be replaced.

 _Thank you Zuma, thank you!_ There was finally a reply, _That's exactly what we need for her next surgery! That exact amount!_

Zuma twitched, "Did she say… _exact_ amount?"

He read it over again and surly, it did. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead.

 _Exact meaning to the penny?_ He had taken to asking.

 _Every cent, not a penny more or less.:)_ , She replied.

Zuma whistled and shrugged, _I'll send the money immediately. I wish I could talk, but I promised Rocky and Rubble that I'd go have breakfast with them. I'll be sure to send the money to your account, just watch for it, okay?_

 _I will, I love you Zuma. Have fun with your friends, and don't hurt yourself. I want to come back to a healthy boyfriend.;)_

Zuma chuckled and typed his last message, _I've done this for a long time, Rosie. I can handle myself. But I'll be sure to take precautions if it makes you feel better._

With that he closed the laptop and left his home. Rubble and Rocky were waiting for him.

X

Rubble looked at the breakfast menu and tapped the desk while Rocky looked out for Zuma. Once and a while he would glance too, but he wanted to make sure Zuma got their table location.

"You think he forget to get up?" Rubble asked.

Rocky laughed and replied, "Knowing Zuma, yup, I do."

Rocky almost gave up and put hid undivided attention on the menu. Mr. Porter stopped by and checked on them.

"You boys ready or should I wait some more?"

"Eh, we'll order," Rocky replied after a glance with Rubble. The two put in their orders and Zuma finally appeared.

"There he is; he's alive," Grinned Rocky.

Rubble laughed with him and gave his menu to Mr. Porter, "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I was chatting with Rosie. Her phone died again, she wanted to talk, and I had to stop by the bank."

Rocky and Rubble shrugged at each other. It was a good excuse.

"At least it wasn't because you wanted to sleep in."

"Hey, I don't sleep in, I just…"

"Can't hear the alarm clock?" Rocky finished, "Yeah, get a new one then and stop hitting the snooze button."

"What did you do at the bank?" Rubble asked.

"I was transferring money into Rosie's account. Taking care of her mother's been bleeding her dry. I doubt she even has enough money for feeding the both of them. The closest grocery store is two miles away and that goes for the city too. They're out in the middle of nowhere."

"You think she's going to be alright?" Rocky asked a bit concerned himself.

"I'm sending half my checks over to her and her mother's insurance is taking care of what they can. This is the first time I've actually prayed since I was twelve."

"Old Martha's rubbin' off on you?" Rubble asked.

Martha was Rosie's mother. Rocky and Zuma both chuckled.

Zuma paused before replying, "I guess she is."

"Well, they've changed you for the better," Rocky shrugged, "Her family is the reason you got this job."

Zuma smiled, "Yeah, I know. And that's why I want to do what I can. Even the coast guard can get a little angry."

"Call it what it is, Zuma. You knew you had PTSD after that boarder attack from some unknown force," Rubble stared.

Zuma was silent. That area wasn't very pretty. He was glad when he finally recovered, but it took burning through six girlfriends until he met one that wouldn't let him act like that. The others wouldn't tolerate it. Rosie was special.

"I'm just glad to have her. How are the kids?" Zuma turned to Rubble.

"A pain," Rubble laughed, "They hate school, but I told them if they wanted to get a job like this, school was the way to go."

Rocky and Zuma laughed and shook their heads. Mr. Porter came back with their breakfast after.

"Thank you," Rocky smiled, "Zuma, I took the liberty in ordering for you. No need to thank me dig in."

Zuma rolled his eyes and thanked Mr. Porter. They continued to listen to Rubble.

"They sometimes come back and, I'm pretty sure, lie about their day so I'll drop them out. Which ain't happin'."

"So, what kinds of things do they lie about? I gotta hear this," Rocky and Zuma shared a glance.

They both carried huge grins waiting for Rubble to do his thing. Rubble cleared his throat and his voice came out almost like a kids.

" _Daddy, you won't believe what happened at school! There was a monster that crawled out of the toilet and we called you but you didn't pick up._ That wasn't the best one though. This was: _Daddy, there was a group of kids who are bullying all of us. They all had guns and they tried to kill everyone. But because of your PAWS skills you taught me I was able to talk them down and save the school. Isn't that cool?_ Yeah, son that is cool. _Yeah! So I don't need school. Maybe I should just drop out._ "

The three laughed and Rubble added, "Nope, it ain't happenin' kido!"

They couldn't stop laughing. As it began to quiet down, intensity still about the same, however, Rocky took his turn to tell a story.

"So, you know how I might be having some kids, right? Well, my wife, being pregnant and all, is being the most emotional think I have ever seen. I can still leave her by herself, but she just has this… I don't know what it is. But anyway, there was this one time when we were having some bug trouble and she found this moth that was flapping its wings widely and trying to fly or something. As soon as she found it she started crying and falling on her knees. And I mean she went all out bawling."

"Oh my god," Rubble placed his face in his right hand and rubbed it.

"For a moth?" Zuma chuckled.

"Yeah, of all things, a moth! She started praying for it and begging God to do something to it, heal it and not let is suffer! I'm watching the whole thing and decide to take her to the sofa and calm her down, I put on her favorite show and left her. She gets up…"

"Oh boy."

"Here it comes."

"And she walked over to the kitchen!"

"Here it comes."

"She looks down at that moth again. In this plain, drowsy stair that lost all emotion and says, 'Oh, I guess God didn't heal it. Honey where's the whipped cream?'"

Zuma and Rubble burst out laughing and clapping their hands. Rubble actually fell back in his chair.

"Whoa, you alright," Laughed Zuma.

"I'm good," Rubble replied, still laughing at Rocky's story, "Probably too good!"

The laughing slowed and a few sighs went around this table. The three got back to their food but still chuckled or cleared their throats trying to heal from the laughing attacks.

Zuma finally clamed but added with the two agreeing, "I love this team."

Rubble and Rocky pat his back and they finished their breakfast. He only wished Rosie was here.

X

Ryder and Katie were talking on the phone as her was preparing to depart his apartment. She had called just to remind him about a leadership meeting that he was forced to attend.

"And don't forget that is around eight am, okay?"

Ryder chuckled and replied, "Yes ma'am. Come on, since when have I ever forgotten details like this?"

"Since that time when you asked me out to a movie and didn't come until it was over," She replied quickly, "I'm still a bit salty about that."

"Oh, come on, you told me the wrong time," He said defensively, "That doesn't count."

"You didn't even bother to look at your phone and see that I changed it?"

Ryder was silent. This only proved her point since she also told him to keep an eye on his phone, which he forgot to do.

"Uh huh, exactly. Don't forget this time. It'll be bad for you," She warned.

Ryder sighed and replied, "I won't. Love you, Bye."

"Bye," Katie replied.

He sighed again and closed his phone. As soon as he was done tying his shoe he left his apartment and used the elevator to get to the second floor. There outside, waiting for him was Radar. Radar lived the closest and was among the only members to have a car. The others being Skye and Zuma. Marshall and Chase had motorcycles, and Rocky, Rubble, and Ryder usually walked or used the bus. As soon as Ryder hopped in he greeted Radar.

"Thanks for the pickup, Radar."

"Sure, thing, Boss, No problem," Radar replied keeping his music low for Ryder.

"Is this a new van?" Ryder asked.

"It's actually a used one. An old 1968 Chevy. Love the old stuff. It's even got a TV. Not the ones this HDMI mind you. Those are overrated."

Ryder chuckled and commented, "You think everything new is overrated, Radar."

"Because it is," Radar replied, "oh, yeah, the buckle's a bit funny. You have to pull really slow."

Ryder tried but the buckle still locked. He tried a few more times but Radar stopped him.

"Boss, you've got to let it wined all the way then pull slowly."

Ryder tried again and Radar ended up having to fiddle with it, "There we go."

There was a moment of silence. Ryder stared at Radar.

"Your… going to get that fixed right?"

"Yeah."

"Okay."

Radar put the van in gear and there was a slight noise that made Ryder insecure. The van began to drive forward then take them onto their destination. However the van had a habit of making terrible sounds. As soon as they reached the HQ. Ryder was a bit quick to get out.

"Sorry, I'm getting those looked at," Radar smiled, "She may be a bit rusty but… she's got some power in her."

"Thanks for the ride," Ryder fast walked inside the HQ and exhaled as soon as he was sure he was away from the possible explosive radius.

Everyone was there, including Zuma, and ready for a situation, should one come. Ryder greeted them and left to the changing room. When he got back Radar was at his station typing away at his computer. Everyone else was talking about separate things. Ryder approached and they gave him his undivided attention.

"Hey Ryder!" They all greeted.

"Nice suite," Chase complimented.

Ryder nodded and smiled at him, "Thanks."

"So, how was last night?" Skye asked.

Ryder look a moment to think and cleared his throat, "It was great. She lead us to some fancy restaurant I can't seem to pronounce or even remember the name of, and we had a really good time."

The team nodded and smiled at each other. Rocky was the only bold one to ask the next question.

"Anything to report?"

Ryder looked at Rocky, seeing his growing smile. It took him a few seconds to get the hint.

"No, not yet."

He clicked his tongue and got to occupying his mind with something else. Half of the team did the same.

"You think that she's even going to be interested?" Chase asked Marshall quietly.

"Not in the least," Marshall shook his head.

Ryder looked at his watch and clicked his hummed, "Hmm, it looks like I'm going to have to leave you guys for just a sec. I've got a meeting to get to. Keep yourselves posted, and Radar?"

"Yeah, Boss?"

"Stop playing Galaga and get to work!" Ryder smirked.

Radar froze and pressed the escape button, "Yes, boss."

As soon as Ryder left Radar mouthed to everyone, "How does he do that?"

They all shook their heads or laughed at him silently and got back to occupying their time. Ryder used the elevator to the sixth floor and made it to the conference room. Outside was Katie, waiting for him.

"There you are! I was worried you were going to be late. Let's go while they're still getting set up."

"What is this about anyway?" Ryder asked.

"It's classified until the President of P.A.W.S talks about it, I can't say. I'll just say it might be good or bad depending on your point of view."

Ryder sighed a bit annoyed and asked, "What point of view?"

Katie licked her lips and sighed trying to find a way to deliver her message across without violating protocol, "The view of… of what you are."

She left before he could ask another question complicate things between them. This left him to stutter a bit to try to get her back but give up. He entered the room passing various other team leaders along the way. When he took his seat he was meant with a more familiar one.

"Hey, Alpha actual."

Ryder looked up and smiled, "Carlos, how ya doing?"

They met hands and pat each other's back. Ryder was good friends with Carlos since the beginning. Used to be in a squad with him once too.

"I'm doing great. Me and my right hand, Tracker, are doing all we can to keep the peace. Just wait, we'll be called Bravo team soon enough."

"I don't doubt it," Ryder laughed, "How is Tracker, by the way, haven't seen him in a long time."

"Heh, he's great. Just keeping the team in check is all. How about Chase?"

Ryder shrugged and nodded, "He's just about the same."

Carlos sat down and went to a whisper, "And Katie?"

They looked up at the blond secretary shaking hands with P.A.W.S President Jake Snow. She laughed at something he said and locked in conversation with him. Ryder chuckled to himself.

"Were doing fine; she's been playing nice, and I've been playing fetch."

Carlos laughed and pat his back, "That's why you guys are called Pup Squad."

"Watch it," Ryder fake-sneered, "That attitude's going to get you in trouble."

Carlos laughed again and Ryder joined him. Then it was Carlos's turn to talk about this own relationship.

"So, how's the family?"

Carlos hummed and replied, "Eh, well, she's getting cranky. She's one of those, you know?"

Ryder nodded side to side and grinned, "Your expecting then?"

Carlos confirmed but not enthused, "Yeah, fifth one over a span of ten years. I think, after this one, were done."

Ryder wolf whistled and agreed, "Five is a lot."

"Alright were going to go ahead and get the meeting started so let's gather in and take our seats, please," President Jake announced.

Ryder turned and faced him. He got confirmable knowing there was a long meeting ahead of him.

X

Michelle couldn't hear it at first but as she began to wake up she had taken notice. It was something of a moan, a call. It took her a moment to realize what it was.

"Mother?"

"Help," came the timid voice.

Michelle pulled herself out of her bed and ran to her mother, "Mom, hold on!"

Michelle ran to her and helped her up from the ground. Her mother was having another heart attack. She quickly took a pill and put it in her mouth.

"You forgot to take you meds last night," She cried.

She gave her mother some water and there was a long silence. Finally the medicine was swallowed and Michelle put her mother on her side, laying day. Finally her mother was recovering and the attack was no longer serious. It faded and there was some raspy breathing.

"Are you alright?" Michelle asked.

"I'm fine, thank you, sweetie," Her mother replied.

Michelle cried and hugged her mother close. She sniffed and hid her head on her shoulder.

"I'm so scared. Why is God doing this?"

Her mother pulled her to where they could see each other face to face, "Michelle, God's not doing this to me. That good-for-nothing devil is. And don't you think otherwise."

"Then why is He letting this happen to you?" She cried.

Her mother couldn't answer but hugged her close, "It's alright baby, it alright. I'll be fine."

Michelle gasped and pulled away, "Your heart transplant appointment! That's today! Get up, mom, get up! We have to get you there now."

"Now hold on, baby, I'm old, I can't move as fast as you."

"I should have woken up sooner," Michelle cursed herself.

She helped her mother get dressed then dressed into a random assortment of cloths. She then helped her mother out to her car into the passenger seat. She tried her best to get to the hospital on time but time fled faster than her. As soon as she arrived she got her mother in a wheelchair and went to the designated floor her mother was assigned to and met the lady at the counter.

"Were here! Were here! I'm here to sign my mother in for the surgery!" She said as fast as she could.

The lady at the desk pursed her lips and tried to find words to put her response, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, protocol dictates that if you don't show up in time for your appointment then the next patient in line has to take your spot. Now, fortunately…"

"No, I can't let that pass. She needs this heart, she'll die!"

"Ma'am, Please. We can keep her here and keep her stable so when the next heart comes it will go to her. But we have already set up plans for the next person in line. They are prepared you are not. I'm sorry, it's the best we can do. Would you like us to keep her here?"

Michelle cried and nodded her head. It was the only thing she could do. They took her mother away and she began to sob. As she left she felt a need to get some sort of beverage. It would probably help calm her down. She noticed a security guard occupied with another guest. She waited for him to get done but he seemed to be taking his time with the guest. She looked stared at him and noticed his gun. It was within arm's reach and left alone at his right side. She pursed her lips and looked for her mother. They had taken her out of the room now and she looked back at the gun. Finally, the tug was so strong she reflexively took it and shouted at the top of her lungs.

"Everyone get out! You! You talk to the one in charge and you change the schedule right now! Get the heart to my mother! Now!"

The guard put his hands up, "Whoa, hey, miss take it easy, no need to get violent."

She pointed the gun at him and shouted, "Shut up!"

He closed his mouth and kept his hands up. She looked around but kept the gun on him.

"Get everyone out of here," She ordered.

He nodded and called, "Alright, everyone please leave the room calmly and quietly! There is no need to hurry!"

She aimed the gun back at the nurse and scowled, "Now call the one in charge and change the appointment back!"

"I-I-I'll see what I can do," She replied after glancing at another nurse who called 911.

X

"911 call! Uptown, Adventure Bay Family Hospital! Angry women with a gun!" Radar alerted.

"What about Ryder?" Rubble asked.

"We can't interrupt the meeting," Chase replied, "I'm taking command. Team let's move!"

The team geared up and gathered what they needed then took off in their vans. Then the team arrived Radar got onto identifying the situation further.

"Alright, team let's not pressure her. Zuma, Marshall, you guys with me, Rocky, get with Radar and to the camera room. Radar, get out of the van, you going to the camera room! Everyone else, follow me and hang back out of sight. Don't give her any escapes. Let's hope this ends well."

The members affirmed their orders and followed Chase inside the hospital. A nurse directed them to the floor and location then exited the building. There, Michelle was waiting. Marshall and Zuma put their guns down with Chase's wave of the hand as he put his down too.

"Hello? You there?"

"What do you want?" Michelle asked pointing the gun.

Skye and Rubble split apart and blocked the exits behind her. Both confirmed their position to Chase and he waited for Radar to get info on the subject.

"Chase, her name is Michelle Mason, her mother is a heart disease victim in need of a transplant. She goes by the name of Martha."

"Holly crap, that's Rosie's mother's name," Zuma exclaimed quietly.

Marshall nodded in response but didn't acknowledge much else. Chase continued after he heard Radar.

"Michelle, my name is Chase Roberts and I'm here to help in any way I can. Can we talk?"

Michelle didn't lower her gun but replied, "If you really want to help then convince the head of this hospital to give that heart to my mother!"

Chase sighed and shook his head, "I can't do that, Michelle. If I do, word will get out, people will start getting ideas, and they'll think that they can get what they want, and we don't want them to do that. We don't want anyone getting hurt."

"Neither do I but we were here first and My mother needs that heart I won't stop until I know she'll get it!" She screamed repointing the gun.

Chase flinched and blew out when she stopped shaking. He looked for more words but didn't find much else.

"Listen, Michelle, that is a real gun, now. I know you mean well, and you don't want to hurt anybody, but if you keep waving that gun around it's going to go off and someone's going to get hurt if we're not lucky."

Michelle tried to hold the gun steady, but she was so afraid now that she couldn't stop vibrating. It started to make even Chase nervous.

He sighed and looked at his teammates, "I don't know much else to talk to her about, she's determined."

"Who isn't, Chase?" Marshall asked.

Chase turned back around and Zuma stared at Michelle a little bit. Chase continued.

"Michelle I'm going to go ahead and take this off and sit over there, I think you and I need to just relax a bit," He said taking off his MP5 and putting his hands up.

"No, stay away!" She cried.

"It's okay I'm just coming over here," He assured her.

"Get back!" She screamed and tried to pull the trigger but something was stopping it, "Huh? What? Why isn't it…"

"The safety is on," Chase muttered, "The safty is on, move in move in now!"

Rubble and Skye began to close in. Marshall and Zuma took to the other side as she fiddled with the gun finally hearing a click and accidently pulling the trigger. She screamed, startled at the action and hit Rubble in the chest. Rubble colapsed and graoned.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I didn't mean it please!" She sobed.

"Pull back, Pull back, Marshall check him out," Chase called, "Michelle, it's okay, that was just an accident. You're lucky we saw that or we would have to take different procedures. That sort of thing happens all the time."

Marshall pulled a groaning Rubble back and took his hand off his chest. He then proceeded to take his left wrist and flip a small screen up from it that appeared to be a miniature x-ray screen. He checked the entire upper body and found the bullet. It was only in his armor.

"Look listen, he's fine, are you okay Rubble?" Chase called.

Marshall gave him a thumbs up and whispered, "No puncture, armor stopped it, and you r just a bit winded."

"I'm okay, I'm okay!" Rubble replied, "The bullet didn't even go in!"

Michelle sighed in relief and looked back at Chase, "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to do that."

"It's fine," Chase nodded, "Like I said it happens all the time. I'll just get back where I was so you feel better. I think you need space to breath anyway."

She nodded and thanked him, trying to dry up her tears. Chase returned to the spot he was before and sighed.

"I've got no way to relate to her, I have no Idea how to help."

"Chase, I know this girl. I know exactly what she's going through. Let me take over," Zuma put a hand on his shoulder.

Chase tapped him and said, "Your in."

Zuma nodded and called, "Michelle, my name is Zuma Dakota. I know what you're going through, believe me. I have a… mother figure. I used to have a mother but she died in a car crash."

"I'm sorry," She gave him soft eyes.

"It's fine. She's not the one I'm wanting to talk about. Now if this story makes you feel uncomfortable in anyway just stop me, okay?"

She nodded, "Okay."

"I have a girlfriend. Her name is Rosie Carmelita Lopez. I met her when I was snorkeling around the south beach her in the Bay. We got together when we met and she made a terrible discovery about me. I had PTSD in pretty ugly way. I had six girlfriends before her too. They all dumped me because of my PTSD but she wouldn't let me go. She saw something that nobody would. Well, one day, after a lot of arguments and apologies she finally took me to see her mother. Her name is Martha."

"My mother's name is Martha too!" Michelle smiled.

Zuma acted as if he had no knowledge of the coincidence, "Really? Wow! Uh, just real quick, what's she like?"

Michelle giggled and replied, "Don't get me started. Don't get me wrong, I love her. She's the sweetest mother anyone would ever have. But she was just so… religious. Everything I did she would always preach at me about what the bible says in counter. It annoyed me in the worst way. What about yours?"

Zuma nodded his head side to side, "Just about the same. I called her the strongest Christian lady I had ever seen."

All of Alpha Squad smiled. They were making progress. Michelle giggled again at Zuma.

"I thought my mother was too."

"They should meet sometime, it'll be fun to watch," Zuma grinned.

"Yeah, but boring. Religion just… gets my nerves sometimes."

Zuma nodded, "Yeah, which brings me to the next point of my story. You see, when I met Martha she said I was the most handsome boy Rosie ever brought in the house. Her house was small. Only four rooms and she had several kids. Rosie was twenty and moved out, the others were seventeen and younger. The youngest was twelve. I met everyone of them and… it changed me. Especially Martha."

"Did she preach to you too?"

Zuma shook his head, "No, she just loved on me. She told me things that… touched me. She… well all of her family, cured me. I no longer had nightmares, I was no longer angry…, and I learned to pass it on."

"So what happened to her?"

Zuma sighed and looked down, "Her kids grew, her husband pulled away from God and divorced but won what was left of the children. So she was alone. Rosie moved back with her because she got cancer. Her body became sore too. Now she can't move around as much without help."

Michelle got upset again, "Now you see that is what I don't get."

"What?" Zuma asked.

"Why God would let that happen," She cried, "Both of our mothers… My mother your girlfriend's mother, are the most faithful to God women that exist on this planet and He abandons them. Why?"

"Michelle, have you even asked Him for help?"

"Why should I my mother has asked Him all her life! I don't need to ask Him again. If He's such as good God then He should just do it!"

Zuma sighed and paused. He looked for more to say. Then he remembered what Martha once told him.

"Michelle, what sort of things happened to you that you wanted His help?"

Michelle chuckled and wondered where to begin, "My mother forgets her medicine, I have to give it to her! She falls down and I have to pick her back up! I try to get her to her appointment and I fail her! The least He could do is help her! Like she asked Him to!"

Zuma drew several conclusions there and nodded, "I understand where your thinking. But let me stop you there. She falls and your always there? Right?"

"Yes," She replied.

"She forgets her medicine and has a heart attack, right?"

"Yes… How did you…?"

"And you tried to get her to the appointment and failed? Right?"

Michelle was back to crying but replied softly, "Yes."

Zuma nodded, "Michelle, He did help Martha. Every time she fell you were there for her. Every heart attack, and you made it to her on time. But you didn't make it to the hospital. You didn't, not Martha. He was helping her… but He wasn't helping you. My Martha told me something that you need to hear. She said that… God doesn't just help people out of the blue. It would be like helping yourself to people's personal items. God is a gentlemen who goes only where he is invited. Martha asked for help, and she got it. You didn't, and you didn't get it. But listen, if you ask now, I know that God is going to help you, and He's going to save your mother."

Michelle lowered her gun. Skye and Rubble were about to move in but Chase stopped them shaking his head.

"Not yet."

"Michelle, do you love your mother?" Zuma asked.

"Yes," She nodded.

"Do you believe God will help her?"

Michelle looked up and cleared her throat then replied confidently, "Yes."

"Then show her," He smiled softly extending his hand out.

Michelle looked at the gun and slowly gave it to Zuma. Chase nodded at Skye and Rubble. They quickly applied handcuffs to her and escorted her out. Along the way, she noticed her mother crying and smiling at her. She cried as well as her mother waved to her and mouthed three words.

"I love you."

Zuma exhaled and put the sidearm on safety. Chase and Marshall pat his back and commended him.

"Good job, Zuma."

Zuma watched as the doctors took the transfer patient out of the operating room. His face turned puzzled.

He ran over and asked, "Hey, what's going on? I thought this patient was clear for surgery."

The doctor smiled and looked at the old man who smiled back, "It's not my turn."

He widened his eyes and looked over at Martha who was being pushed into the operating room. He nearly cried himself. His eyes closed and whispered to the air.

"Thank you."

X

Ryder couldn't believe what he heard. The meeting had ended and he was still trying to make sence of everything.

"PAW Patrol? Elite Squadron? What does any of that mean?"

While he was returning to his team he found the room empty, "Where did everyone go?"

He looked at the two lights and saw the red one still blinking. He knew what happened then.

"They must have had to go on a job without me. I hope it turned out okay."

A few cars pulled in and some doors opened and closed. He chuckled and smirked.

"Speak of the devil," They entered and Ryder asked, "How'd it go?"

Chase smiled back and motioned to Zuma, "Ask him."

Ryder turned toward Zuma who was still by the car. He was leaning against it looking down.

"Hey, you alright?" He asked.

Zuma looked up, "Hmm? What?"

"I asked if you were fine," Ryder replied, "Rough one today?"

"No, I just… That was my first relation and I succeeded, but it's what happened after that… really gets me."

"What happened," Ryder asked.

"She won," Zuma laughed, "The subject got what she wanted. Her mother's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."

"Did you tell her yet?" Ryder asked.

"No, not yet," Zuma took a long shaky breath.

"Come on, let's go tell her," Ryder smiled, "Come on."

Zuma nodded and the two left to deliver the good news. Michelle would be so happy.

X

The shift ended and the team could go home. Chase took Skye back to her apartment on his bike.

"It's been a long day, huh, big boy?" She messed with is hair.

"I'm just glad I can actually smile this time," Chase replied, "I was so afraid we had to… take her out."

Skye smiled at him and his tender heart. She took his arm and pulled on it. At the same time she pressed the cut-off switch.

"Come on, you need something to drink."

He didn't budge but she tugged harder, "Come on."

He sighed and left the bike to go with her. She dragged him all the way into her house and set him down on her sofa.

"I'll be right back," She smiled.

"Sure," Chase dismissed.

It smelled nice in her house. He'd never actually been there before. It smelled a lot like something sweet. Maybe it was a candle. It smelled a lot like the Yankee brand candles, perhaps vanilla. His thoughts were interrupted by others.

"Crap, we forgot your car at my apartment."

"I know," Skye called back, "You should just stay here, take us back in the morning, we'll have breakfast, and then I'll take it to work."

She came back, changed and with two coffee mugs filled with hot cocoa. She was dressed in a T-shirt with some baggy sleeping pants and her hair was loose. He took a moment to smile at her figurine before excepting the mug.

"See something you like?" She asked.

"Yeah," He replied honestly, "Love more like."

She put her mug down and giggled, "Oh, does the big boy want to play?"

Chase put his down too and gave her a playful glare. She giggled again and squealed a little as soon as he attacked her stomach. He tickled her forcing her to try to counter in some way. Unfortunately, Chase didn't have any tickle spots so her only counter was to wrap her arms and legs around him and laugh uncontrollably. He picked her up, as she was wrapped tightly around him, and carefully placed her on the ground. The battle continued on there with Chase now grabbing her sides and sliding forward to meet with her face to face. They calmed a bit and slowly closed the distance between their lips. Skye moaned as he brushed through her hair and intensified the kiss. She flipped onto him and ran her fingers through his hair as well.

"Don't you want to take this to my room?" She said in labored breath.

"Yeah, okay," He nodded.

She squealed, overjoyed and ran off to it. He chuckled and took after her. He had a feeling she was planning something interesting.

X X X X

Help wanted: I need OCs so that I can create other situations. If you wish, or can, please send them through comment, if you're a guest, or through PM if you can. Give a name, age, gender, role( such as a subject, or criminal, objective, or hostage, or a team member which may be a leader or operative), and then some small background. Just the day they were born, military background or not, married and has or no kids. If it's a subject then identify why so I know what to do with him or her. Michelle in this story was a demonstration that the subject doesn't have to be bad. Ajshe was a demonstration that they can be. If it's an objective then just add what you can think of. If it's a team member, then you will have to identify the squad he or she is int( Bravo to Foxtrot) or identify if they're in a different agency or whatever. Its your OC so do what you want. Otherwise just send me your thoughts on how I'm ruining a kids show that I love so dearly. Thank you for your time and have a nice day.

Disclaimer: above content belongs to Nickelodeon. Not much is mine.

Future Refrence: I apologize for any offense given and will openly listen to those who believe a chapter or section should be removed or rewritten. I do this as a pleasure thing so I'm happy to do it.

-10000reasons


	3. Chapter 3: Friends or Enemies

The teams were set up and ready for action. The house was completely surrounded by the P.A.W.S and F.B.I. Whoever was inside wasn't getting out.

"Alpha team b, ready for breach," Chase said on the coms.

His responsibility was the back entrance with Rubble, Rocky, and F.B.I agent Alex Zincous. Ryder was at the front with Zuma, Skye, and F.B.I agent Conroe Ace. Marshall was sniper this time. He was planted at a window of an evacuated house.

"Alpha team a, ready for breach," Ryder replied.

"Alright, I count eight tangos, guys, stay ready," Radar said typing at his computer.

Both agents from both sides nodded. Rubble and Rocky used rams to open the door and who was left entered in. The two took the back of the tactical teams as soon as they moved it. Chase had point and caught one guy making a run for his AK-74u.

"P.A.W.S and F.B.I, freeze!" He warned, but it fell on deaf ears.

As soon as the guy picked it up he aimed to fire but Chase took him out before he could make another move. The team resumed their search.

"Dining room, clear!" Chase called.

They heard firing form the other side and hear, "Living room, clear! Moving upstairs!"

"Tango's up top!" Skye shouted taking aim.

Zuma snapped and took them out before she could pull the trigger. He didn't know that Skye was aiming for them, but it didn't bother her that he had taken the lives instead of her.

Ryder took point with his team and climbed the stairs. Someone was dumping white powder inside a toilet.

"Drug house confirmed," Ryder said on coms, "Were in the right place. Keep your eyes peeled for Marco."

"Copy," Chase replied, going do the basement.

He threw a flash bang and waited as soon as he heard the pop and heard the screams he moved in with his team. They began shouting and subduing those who surrendered. In the midst of it they tried to find one that identified as Marco. None of them matched.

"Crud, I don't see Marco," Rocky sighed.

"Did he get away before we got here?" Asked Agent Alex.

Chase sighed and looked around. There was nothing.

"Boss, basements clear, no sign of Marco anywhere. How about you?"

Ryder took out two subjects that fired at him replying, "Bedroom clear. No, I don't see him. Radar, we have all eight tangos, but no sign of Marco."

"Wait, a ninth just showed up, he's making a run for it! How did he dodge the satellite scan?"

"I see him," Marshall called, "Boss, he's making a run for it and he's out of police view. I have a clear leg shot, should I take it?"

"No, we need him alive and unharmed," Ryder replied, "Team, let's move!"

Marshall removed himself from the house and took off after Marco. Marco was a fast runner but not nearly as fast as Marshall. As soon as he got within the range he tackled him. Marco groaned, landing on hard cement and growled.

"Get off me!"

"Not happening," Marshal replied taking cuffs to his hands.

"I got him," Marshall called.

"Marshall, on your six!" Ryder yelled.

Marshall turned and was pistol whipped across the head. He fell off Marco and kicked the attacker.

The gun didn't leave his hand so he shot Marshall on the chest. Marco started to crawl away. The key landed nearby. He was able to grab them and fiddled with them to get the cuffs off. The attacker saw the team catching up. He picked Marshall up and aimed his weapon at his head. Chase, reflexively aimed and took out the man holding Marshall. By that time Marco fiddled out of the cuffs and bragged the gun. He pointed and fired but Marshall tackled him again and recuffed him.

"Not this time, Spanish-boy."

"I'm Mexican," Marco groaned.

Marshall shook his head, "Whatever."

"Conroe," They heard a moan.

Conroe turned widened his eyes, "Alex!"

Alex was bleeding from the throat. Marshall motioned for Chase to take Marco so he could check him out and stabilize Alex.

"Alex, hold on for me buddy, you're going to be okay alright? You're going to be okay," Conroe assured.

"Hold him still," Marshall requested.

He flipped his x-ray open and found the bullet.

"It just missed the jugular vein, but we need to stop the bleeding," Marshall informed Conroe.

He took some heavy gauze from his pack and put it on Alex's throat. Not a minute later did the ambulance get there and take him away. Conroe watched in tears as his partner and best friend was being taken away in that state. He turned toward Marco who was being taken away.

"You son of a…"

"Whoa, hey!" Ryder stopped him from getting close to Marco.

Chase and Rubble were helping him. He started cursing Marco as he was placed in a car and driven off.

"You hear me? You're going to pay!"

"Ace!" Ryder shouted, "That's enough. He'll get what he deserves in court."

Conroe sneered at Ryder, "Court? That kid doesn't even deserve a day in court! He just killed my partner!"

"We don't know that!" Chase argued.

"Didn't you see the condition he was in? You think he's going to survive that?" Conroe screamed.

"He's going to be fine!" Rubble yelled over him, "Marshall said it missed the jugular vein. So he's going to be fine."

Conroe forced his way out of Rubble and Chase's grip and said nothing else. After the team was set to leave, they returned to the HQ and Radar delivered his report. Fortunately, since it was a takedown, there was no need for anyone to justify their shots. All shots were pretty much authorized. It was near end of their shift however and they were packing up to get out.

"It's been a long time since we were called to do a breach," Chase smiled.

"Yeah, talkin' about exciting, right?" Rocky chuckled.

Rubble sighed and said to the group, "I'm a bit worried, Conroe seemed pretty angry when Alex got hit."

The team agreed. Ryder recalled the agent's attitude. He was enraged, not just angry. There was probably a slight chance he would do something about it. The thought was a spooky for Ryder. Conroe was the same agent that showed up for Ajshe's situation. Him and Alex both. It would be a shame to lose them.

"Whelp, it's time to wind down now," Rocky said looking at his watch, "See you guys later."

"Yeah, see you later, Rocky," Rubble replied.

The rest of the team said their goodbyes and departed the building as soon as they could. Marshall was the last one out. He heard his phone vibrate and looked at the text.

 _We still on tonight?_

Marshall grinned and texted back, _Yeah, I'll be right there as soon as I can._

 _K. Love you. Bye._

He took his bag and got on his motorcycle to get to his next destination. It was a restaurant south of the P.A.W.S HQ. It wasn't too far but it had its distance. When he got there he cleared his throat and took a deep breath. It was a pretty expensive place and he wasn't dressed for the occasion. Why couldn't she have thought of that?

He entered in and saw someone raise their hand, "Marshall, good to see you."

Marshall smiled back, "Bentley."

Bentley led him to their table. Marshall smiled at his younger sister.

"Marshall, it's so good to see you," She stood up and hugged him, also planting a kiss on his cheek.

"Hello Maria," He hugged her tight.

He hadn't seen her since she moved out of the Bay. She lived in the big city of New York now. Had a high quality apartment with her husband. Bentley worked with N.Y.P.D most of the time, but he and Maria made room for romance once in a while.

"Evangeline, Sarah, got off your phones and look who it is," Maria scolded.

They looked up and the girl's faces lit up, "Uncle Marshall!"

The two were about a year apart, one being eleven the other being twelve. They ran into Marshall's stomach and nearly toppled him over. He knew to implant his feet and grab on to something before impact, however.

"Uncle Marshall, it's so good to see you," Evangeline hugged.

"It's good to see you two too," He smiled patting their backs.

The girls giggled uncontrollably as he gave them his undivided attention. They pulled him to the table and made him sit between them.

"Guess what, Uncle Marshall!" Sarah smiled proudly.

"Hmm, I don't know, what?" He replied.

Sarah straightened her back and replied, "I made honor student in my school. My teachers say I'm the brightest student they've ever had."

"Very good, Sarah! I ought to take you to Mr. Porter's for a smoothie or some ice cream," Marshall said playing with her hair.

Sarah giggled sighing and leaning into Marshall's right side. Evangeline glared a hateful glare at her and countered with her own accomplishment.

"Well, guess what, Uncle Marshall," She started out.

Marshall pretended to think and replied, "I don't know, what?"

Evangeline beamed and replied, "I became an honor student too. And not only that, but I won the science fair that the school had. They said I was the smartest student they've ever had. They even gave me a big blue ribbon with first place on it."

"Evangeline, that's amazing. That settles it, I should take the both of you out. If that's okay with you two," Marshall smiled at Bentley and Maria.

"Pft, of course," Bentley smiled.

"We can trust you, Marshall," Maria smiled, "I'd be more than happy to give you a day with the girls."

She leaned in and added, "They can be a real handful sometimes but you seem to keep them under good control. How do you do it anyway?"

Marshall shrugged, "I don't know; I just do what I feel like with them."

"Uncle Marshall," Sarah tugged, "When are you going to take us to Mr. Porter's?"

Marshall shrugged and replied, "I'm very busy over the week so I'll call and see if that times a good time."

"Oh, only time is probably a good time. As long as you girls behave," Bentley lifted an eyebrow at them.

"Yes, papa," They replied simultaneously.

Evangeline piped up again, "Oh, Uncle Marshall, can we spend the night at your house?"

Marshall scratched his head, "I don't have a house; I have an apartment."

"Why don't you have a house?" Sarah asked puzzled.

"I don't exactly get that much money," He replied, "I don't think you'll be able to stay either."

The girls groaned, "Oh, why not?"

"My apartment is too small," He replied.

Maria looked at him oddly, "What do you mean too small. Marshall, you didn't get those apartments downtown did you?"

Marshall froze not wanting to answer. Silence answered for him.

"Marshall Adam Benton, You know better. Those apartments don't even get sprayed for pests."

"I know, I know, Maria, but I need someplace to stay. I can't just live with Skye, that would not look well and probably get one of us thrown out."

"Marshall, you don't have to stay with anyone just find a better place. Those two roomed apartments are terrible. Their just as bad as the slum."

Marshall rolled his eyes and replied, "At least it's warm."

Maria covered her eyes and begged him, "Don't say that, Marshall. It sounds worse than it is that way."

"Marshall, I always have money for you to buy a better place. I can pay for a few days and you should be able to get money enough to pay for yourself later," Bentley offered.

Marshall shook his head, "No, I'd better not. The better rooms are just too much for me to like to pay for or let anyone pay for in that instance."

Bentley sighed and looked at his wife. She sighed as well and smiled at her brother.

"Well, as long as you're eating well, staying healthy, and whatever else leads to a good long life, I guess I can get over your living quarters."

Marshall smiled, "Thanks, Maria. And thank you for the offer, Bentley."

"Anytime," Bentley smiled, "I owe you more than you think anyway. That's not just talking about loans."

The waiter came to their table and introduced himself. He handed out some menus and asked if they wanted any beverages.

After Bentley answered Maria leaned over to Marshall and whispered a few more words to move on from the situation, "Now all you need is a girlfriend."

Marshall scoffed to himself but took the words to heart. He wanted one; he really did. But he heard so many horror stories of rushed relationships he tried to be as careful as he could as his choices. Right now, there weren't any to pick from.

X

Rubble returned home and exhaled as soon as he got within his four walls, "Ah, home sweet home. Honey, I'm back!"

Shelby turned the corner and smiled, "Kids, look who's home."

The little girl and boy looked from the dining table and shouted, "Daddy!"

They ran to him and he leaned down to their level greeting them, "Ey! How are my kids doing?"

They giggled as he picked them up with is strong arms and squeezed them. He put them down and took a good look at them.

"I swear, every time I look at them they've grown," He kissed his wife.

"I know!" She exclaimed adding to the act, "There getting to be so big!"

"Daddy, you won't believe what happened in school today!" said the little boy.

Rubble sighed and looked at his wife. Shelby shook her head and he nodded.

"Ron, is this another story about why you need to drop out?" He asked.

Ron didn't answer directly, "But this time it's real!"

"Ron, everyone knows your just trying to get out of school," sighed his older sister, "Not like me. I love school. I get to play with all my friends, I get a nice teacher, and I always get a sticker."

"So what?" Ron sneered, "You don't know if the stories real or not. You weren't there."

Rubble sighed and sat down, "Alright, I'll hear it."

Ron smiled but his sister, properly named Helena, rolled her eyes and got back to her homework. Ron began to tell his story and Rubble listened patiently. He loved his son but he just needed to learn how to tell a convincing story. That was something Ron wasn't good at. Sometimes he wasn't lying, but those stories were hard to distinguish between them and the ones he tells to get out of school.

Rubble sighed as soon as Ron was done and said, "Wow, that was very brave of you. Now go finish your homework and then you can play."

Ron groaned and asked, "Do I have to?"

Rubble lifted his eyebrows and used the silence to answer. Ron sighed again and trudged to the dining room. Rubble chuckled and his wife giggled.

"He's still a work in progress."

She smiled at her husband and sat on the arm of the chair hugging him close, "Well, maybe he would understand better if he just was given the chance to see what the world is like. He needs to understand why he has to go to school. You should take him out sometime."

"You know I can't take him to work. He would get bored. He's too young to see the other stuff," Rubble sighed.

"I didn't say it had to be work," Shelby smiled.

Rubble thought about it for a few second and shrugged, "I'll figure something out."

Shelby kissed him, "Good, make sure to do it quick. He needs his father."

"Yeah, I bet," Rubble exhaled.

He was never home for half the day. Maybe even all of it. Being a strategic response agent was a lot of work. It was life risking, dramatic, even painful. That didn't just mean getting hit. He still had a big pink spot from the shot that one time. He was just glad he wasn't Zuma. His didn't let him sit for an entire month. It might have been longer than that. To the point, most of the team, including him, had to go through some dark places in life. Revisit was probably the right word, actually. At least he had his family. Not many people like him was that lucky. Most often got the Dear John letter. Otherwise, they gave out the Tell my wife. Not many didn't have to give either. But later on, the lucky ones might have their luck run out and have to get the I'm Leaving, Chad. So many possibilities and yet his luck was strong.

"Dad! Can you help me with this problem?" Ron called.

That was his cue. Rubble stood up from his favorite chair and walked over to his son. He knew better than any man that such an act would probably be a privilege.

X

This might be off topic, but far to the east—or perhaps close to the west—in the country of South Korea, deep in the mountains lied a top secret base known as White Hannibal. The base was well known for its involvement in several Korean ops from the Cold War till today. North Koreans had tried to find this base of maneuvers but failed. This was among the safest places for the army and marines to stay while they planned. In particular, there was a soldier, female, who went by Cpl. Winters or, to only her closest, Husky. Her jurisdiction consisted in these mountains, but mostly in scaling or repelling. She was the best known climber they had in their force. A keen shot too. She spent most of her time doing drills or being with her friends. Conversations were small and not quite interesting until today.

"Hey, I heard White Hannibal's finally got the governments eye," Said the eldest one.

Also the one who had been there the longest among the group of three. He goes by Sgt. Dudley, but among the three he was Do-Right. A name he passionately hated to be called by any others. The next was often called Pfc. Morse, but his two friends called him Strat. They always said he looked like a Strat.

"Since when does the government care what happens over here?" Strat asked.

Do-Right chuckled, "Beats me. I'd've thought they would look at hire in bases like Fire Base Phoenix or something but I guess not. Seems their lookin' at us."

Husky chuckled and shook her head, "Maybe they realized that bases like that don't have the best shooters. We do."

"Darn right," Do-Right agreed, "See, this is why we let this girl hang around."

Strat nodded in agreement but she looked at them in a glare. Husky knew pretty well that she was the toughest of the three. As a matter of fact, they did too. But she let the apparent insult slide.

"Yo, Ice Cubes!" Shouted a solder to the three.

Ice Cube was a common nickname for a solder you didn't know the name of around there. It was a bit of an accepted term since there wasn't a better name to call anyone. Husky was a bit of an exception but the soldier didn't take the time to say her name.

"Did you hear the news? The C.I.A is lookin' to pull out a guy for an op," He walked over, "Something you might look into, Husky."

"C.I.A? Your pullin' our legs, the C.I.A don't give two craps about what happens over here," Strat laughed.

"They do now," The soldier replied, "Head over to the pit if you want a chance."

"How 'bout it fellas?" Do-Right asked.

"I'm in," Husky shrugged, "Might be fun, after all. Come on, Do-Right. Time to show them what your made of."

"You know it, Husky darling, I could snipe your puppy butt a hundred miles away!" He grinned.

"Watch it," She warned, "That mouth of yours might get shot straight off if you talk like that."

"Yeah, Do-Right, you can't just say that because she's your friend. This is why we need feminism!"

The three laughed. The phrase was common among them. They made fun of feminism whenever they could.

"This is why we need feminism," Husky laughed, "Don't you get what we women are struggling for, Do-Right? Shame on you!"

"Oh geese," He groaned.

Though it was funny to him, it often turned around to bite him before leaving. But even with their hilarious humor he continued to march alongside them. It was one thing he was better at then the both of them. Husky may have been the toughest, but he was the fastest. The two would prank her quite a few times. When it came to facing her wrath, Do-Right never had to outrun her. He just needed to outrun Strat and he'd be golden… Mostly.

"Everyone take your seats!" Shouted the captain.

They found a random open three seats that were quickly taken by three marines who rudely remarked, "These seats are taken, Ninnies."

"Why you little…"

"Manners, Do-Right, it's what separates up from the animals," Husky stopped him.

"You wanna say that again, pup?" A marine stood up.

"You heard the captain, sit down," She shot back, "And stay down like a good boy. Are you better or are you worse? Either one, prove it."

He chuckled and pointed at her, "Better keep one eye open when you sleep. I might just crawl in."

Husky scoffed and replied, "Go ahead you won't be able to do anything. You don't even have an inch."

His friend laughed quietly at the insult. If she wasn't the toughest, she was the cleverest. He glared at her and sat down. There were many ways he was probably plotting his revenge.

"Alright, all of you come here because of one reason. To show you're the best in this entire freezer. The good news you've all got a fair chance. The bad news, you've all got a fair chance. And yes, I did repeat myself. Now if your brains are too small to comprehend what I just said: I said only one thing. You all will have a fair chance. That means the same course but only one run. Yes, I said once. So if you want to run it again, too bad. Now for the really bad news. There is only one opening for this spot and only one of you may be able to take this spot. This is C.I.A Agent Adam Carson. He will be watching for all of your worst flaws and forget you even have a best should they appear here today. Any questions? Good. Now let's get started."

The names appeared alphabetically. Husky was in the W's. She took a deep breath and accepted her carbine. Many of her colleges, and might one add adversaries, took their turns. Several of them made pretty good times. Some she wouldn't even home beating. However time meant nothing if you hit a bunch of civilians.

"Winters! You're up!" Shouted the captain, "Come on, let's move, we still got others to cover!"

She stepped up to the start quickly. He took a timer and sniffed then blew the whistle. She took off, full stride. The first targets pulled up and she shot them, ignoring the civilian and not even caring to be tactical. Three pops and she vaulted right over the cover. The next showed and she took cover this time and shot the targets. After, she threw a flash in the next room and popped what came out. She took off in a run and again, ignored being tactical or neat and bashed the next target with her rifle. The next few appeared and she finished her clip, then used her sidearm. Something that everyone else seemed to neglect. After that, the last two targets appeared and she ignored reloading. Instead she took out her knife and the used the bottom of her pistol to break the head of the target on her left and stab the one on her right. She rushed to the finish and the whistle blew.

The captain shook his head and shouted, "Winters! What on earth was I seeing? Is that how the Army takes out hostiles? All I saw a bunny running the race! You'd have been dead by now!"

"Too right, Captain," Agent Carson said coolly, "But she's still here and she killed every last one of them. No civilian casualties and the fastest speed yet, I think. What time did she have, captain?"

The captain looked at his stop watch and replied, "Twenty-five seconds, sir."

The soldiers and marines muttered to themselves about the time. None of them could beat that. There was no way in hell.

Agent Carson examined Husky as she stood unmoved by her captain's yelling. She didn't' even seem to care what he was talking about. As a matter of fact, she looked more like she didn't even know.

Agent Carson smiled and looked at the rest of the group, "Who here thinks they can beat that time?"

No one raised their hand. All of them knew pretty well that they couldn't.

"I see. Captain, I believe I've seen enough here. Cpl. Winters, please follow me."

Husky looked at her two friends who urged her along. She swallowed and followed the agent to the next room.

"I admit it, that was extremely sloppy, nothing we can't beat out of you," He smiled.

"Sir?" She asked.

Carson cleared his throat, "You know why I'm here?"

"Yes sir," She replied.

"You know what I want?" He asked additionally.

"Not quite, sir," She replied.

He chuckled and sat down on a chair, throwing a file down onto the desk. On the top, in read lettering was labeled _classified_.

"Open it," He directed in the midst of the awkward silence.

She sat down and opened the file. Something she knew was dangerous. However, dangerous was often her middle name and the curiosity was too strong to resist. There were various agents' names and different places labeled. Operations and armories were also listed.

"Sir, what is this?" She asked.

"The sign that reads: you belong to the C.I.A now. You won't be staying here anymore, _Agent_ Winter."

She looked up," But I'm not even in the Special Forces. I'm just an enlisted troop. What do you need any of us for?"

Carson chuckled again and stood up, "What makes a special force a special force?"

"Training," She replied.

"And you'll have that. For now, however, being this plan is still… working out its kinks and wholes. We'll be taking you to training then send you somewhere else. Play practice if you could call it that."

Husky squinted and asked, "And what exactly is this, 'play', sir?"

Carson couldn't help but smirk and reply, "Have you ever heard of the Protect And Watch Service, Agent Winters?"

X

To bring us back to the current situation, it is to P.A.W.S's belief that F.B.I Agent Conroe Ace had returned home at the end of his shift. They were wrong. As a matter of fact, he was far to distressed to be home. Conroe and his partner had been close friends since they got to understanding each other. A kid had probably ended that. His partner didn't look so good after getting shot. Finally, a doctor came from the operating room, wiping his forehead.

"How is he?" Conroe asked.

"It's alright, he's going to make a recovery. However he may be unable to return to duty do to his injury. That's if he's lucky."

"How long," Conroe asked, "If he's lucky."

"Six months," Was the reply.

"I can't wait that long. By now I will have to be reissued a new partner," Conroe dug his fingers into his hair.

"I'm sorry it's the best we can do," The doctor apologized.

"Do better!" Conroe shouted, "You're a doctor for God's sake!"

"Sir, please remain calm. We are doing everything we can."

"No you're not," He growled.

"Sir?" A nurse called, "Mr. Zincous requested to see you."

"He's up?" Conroe asked.

"He woke up just now," She replied.

He approached her and thanked her then quickly got into the room. Alex was breathing a bit raspy, and unable to talk but he was there with a smile.

"Hey, Alex, how ya doin'?" Conroe smiled.

Alex smiled bigger to answer. It wasn't' much but it satisfied Conroe enough.

"Good," She grinned and sat next to him.

The smile disappeared making Alex's go too. He could tell there was something wrong.

Conroe sighed, sniffed and explained, "They told me you wouldn't fully recover till six months. That's if you're lucky. You may not even return to duty."

Alex tried to shrug. He couldn't because of the harness, but Conroe got the idea.

"By that time, even if you do make it, I'll have a new partner," He began to cry, "We won't work with each other anymore."

Alex frowned but smiled to comfort his friend. A hand came up to grab his.

Conroe took it and cried into it then looked him into the eye, "I promise you, I'm going to make sure that kids is brought to justice. He won't be able to do this to you or anyone ever again. I swear it."

Alex frowned and pointed to a notebook. Conroe looked around and found the object he was pointing at. He got the notebook and took out his own pen then gave it to Alex. Alex took his time writing then showed Conroe.

 _Don't worry about it, buddy. I'm alive, your alive, and were still friends. Don't let that kid get in the way of that. Buddies are buddies, no matter what._

Conroe nodded, "Yeah, your right. But that kid… I'm not letting him get away with this."

Alex looked concerned. Conroe put a hand on his and smiled.

"Don't worry about me, pal. Everything will be fine, I promise."

Alex smiled, being assured, and closed his eyes. Conroe took a deep breath and took a shaky breath. After that, he returned home to think. He would probably be doing a lot of it now.

X

Chase stroked Skye's head and she laid on his chest. They were on her couch watching a TV show that Skye had found and pulled Chase into. It became a favorite to the couple and they often watched it when there was nothing else to do. Skye about now had fallen asleep but Chase still was still watching. At least, he tried to. He couldn't really see past his tears. He wasn't crying, but every time he yawned he secreted tears. Eventually, he gave up and turned off the TV near the end of the episode.

"Whelp, time for bed," He grunted, trying to pick up his tired girlfriend.

She stirred and moaned in her sleep, "I don't want you to go. Stay here with me."

Chase laughed quietly and replied, "I never said I was going. But since your offering I suppose I'm sharing your bed."

Skye giggled and asked, "So you think you're ready to graduate from the couch?"

Chase scoffed and replied, "I was kidding, but I'll sleep on the ground at the foot. That's as close as I'm getting."

Skye smiled and moaned, "It's an improvement."

He picked her up and took her to her room then placed her on her own bed. He then proceed to help her get ready, by removing her socks and shoes.

"Can you get my pajamas? I'm too tired to do it myself," She moaned.

Chase sighed and nodded, "Alright, but don't try anything. That last night a few weeks ago was the only acceptation. It was our anniversary when we started dating."

"You remembered," She giggled drowsily.

He removed her shirt and replied, "Yeah, I remember."

He took the pajama top and put her arms through the sleeves then buttoned it up over her upper body. She detested when he got a litter higher.

"Not too high, it'll make he too hot."

"Okeydoke," He sighed.

He then went to her pants and unbuttoned them. He pulled them down, careful not to pull anything else, and slipped her bottoms on.

"Thanks, sweetie," She moaned and balled up into the bed.

He smiled, kissed her cheek, and replied, "It was my pleasure."

She moaned again with a smile, but he wasn't done. He took the blanket and pulled it from under her then picked her up and slid her in. She hugged her pillow and his work was done. A sigh of relief came over him. He left to the quilt closet to gather some bedding and set up a bed on the ground at the foot of Skye's. He laid down and relaxed, happy to get to sleep. Tomorrow was probably going to be a big day. That's what he thought every night anyway.

X

In the morning, Ryder and his team were working on a drill with another drug bust. All they had to do was wait for a warrant. Unfortunately, they were called to duty early for another situation.

"911 call!" Radar shouted, "Downtown police station! It's Conroe!"

"Are you kidding? Is he still hooked up on Marco shooting his partner?" Rubble asked.

"One way to find out," Ryder replied jogging to his gear.

"What about our bust?" Zuma asked.

"Charlie Team is taking it over," Radar answered, "Now let's go!"

"That's Carlos, they'll be fine," Ryder tapped Zuma, "Alright, let's load up, Alpha Team!"

The team got into their respective vehicles and drove for the police station. As soon as the got there the police had spread out to every exit and entrance. Any others on patrol remained on patrol however. Just without help.

"What's the situation?" Ryder asked.

"An F.B.I agent went loony, replied the chief. He's in the interrogation room and somehow got the door shut tight. There's no going in."

"Is Marco inside?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah, he's in there," Replied the Chief.

"Alright, Alpha team let's get a good look inside. Rocky, Zuma, take a shield, Rubble figure out how to get that door open! Everyone else, were behind Rocky and Zuma. Radar you know what to do. I don't want to risk any surprises. Let's move!"

The team moved in with the acceptation of Radar. So far there was nothing to worry about. They got to the interrogation room door and heard shouting.

"Yup, Agent Conroe Ace confirmed," Ryder said quietly to Radar.

"Affirmative," Radar replied, " I recommend you use the other room for visual and I'll see if he's got his phone on 'em."

"Copy, Rubble, look at the door. Rocky stay with him, if he get out you tackle and subdue him, understood. I'm going to talk to him and everyone else, cover the halls. Chase, Skye your with me."

"Got it, Boss," The team replied.

Rubble got to examining the door and looking for weak point. He knew breaching better than anyone. If anyone knew how to get inside, it was going to be him. Ryder went inside the viewing room of the interrogation room.

"He's got his phone, Boss, need me to call and link you in?" Radar asked.

"Do it," Ryder nodded.

X X X

"You and your little drug business! That's all you cared about! Well guess what kid! You lost it! All of it! And now you took my partner's life away from him! You think you could get away from that! Hell no! You going to pay! Right here! Right now!"

"Hey come on, chill, man!" Marco shouted trying to calm him, "Why don't we just talk? You're a cop right? We can come to something!"

"I'm not negotiating with you! Your worth nothing, you druggy!"

The phone rang and Conroe growled at it, asking rudely, "What? Who is this?"

" _Agent Conroe Ace, this is Captain Ryder Darien, remember me_?"

"Oh, Ryder, how nice of you to drop in. Let me guess: your behind the glass lookin' in? He asked in fake pleasantry.

" _Your skills haven't abandoned you, I see_ ," Ryder answered, " _Conroe, I know what you going through and I know it hurts, but you need to listen to me. I just want to help._ "

"Help? Yeah, I know you, _Captain_. You only ever want to help! Do you think you know anything about how it feels to lose a friend? How it feels to watch the loose their life?"

Ryder paused and replied, " _I do, believe it or not, I do, Conroe. You aren't alone in this. I've lost a lot of friends in my past years_."

"Did you watch them? Huh? Did you see them on that bed? Fine one day then dead the next! Did you!"

Ryder didn't reply after a while. He feared the answer to his question.

" _Conroe, Alex didn't make it, did he?_ "

Conroe wiped his wrist across his head and eyes trying not to cry. He didn't reply but the answer was pretty strait forward.

" _Conroe, I'm so sorry. It's hard to lose a friend, and I know that. I've done jobs like this similar and I've lost a lot of friends. Yes, Conroe, I did see them die. I watched every last one of them. I still remember the words they said to me, the things they said to me. I never forgot them._ "

"Then you know how I feel. You get why I'm doing this," Conroe said to the mirror.

" _I do_ ," Ryder nodded, " _And I know you want to kill him but I can't let you do that_!"

"He needs to pay."

" _He needs to confront the court! He's going to get what he deserves, you don't have to do this_!"

"Come on, man listen to him," Marco begged.

Conroe paced back and forth and screamed covering his head, "Shut up!"

Marco shook and started to cry as the gun was pointed at him. Conroe paced more, deep in thought.

X X X

"Boss, he's not biting is he?" Skye asked.

"Just give him time, Skye; He'll come through," Ryder said confidently.

"We need to find out how to get in there if things go south," Chase advised, "Radar might be able to find something that can break through the door."

"It wouldn't be enough time, he'd kill Marco as soon as we made it in," Ryder shook his head.

"We could try to break through the glass," Skye advised.

"Neither may work," Ryder shook his head, "We have to find a better way to get though."

"I don't even know if there is a better way," Chase sighed.

" _Man, can't you just talk to them come to an agreement? Just don't kill me!_ "

" _Shut up or I will kill you!_ "

"Conroe? Conroe, listen you have to remember to be careful with that gun. All that fidgeting may cause it to go off."

" _I don't care! Why do you even care? What do you even care! As soon as I'm out of here I'm going into a prison!_ "

"We can't make a special case for you, your right. But it's not because of who you are; it's the law. We can't just make special cases for the people who enforce it to break it. Then everyone would try to and we can't have that. Everyone gets treated fairly and each punishment is given justly. His will come too."

Conroe broke out crying and stared at Marco. Marco was too. The situation was pretty bad.

"Boss, this door is just reinforced metal, we could blow right through with a thermal breach charge!" Rubble called.

"Negative, that will take too long," Ryder shook his head, "We need something faster."

"A normal breach charge won't make it," Rubble sighed.

"What about the glass?" Chase asked.

"It's blast proof," Ryder shook his head, "We'll figure out something. We'll find a way, just keep thinking, team."

Ryder rubbed his forehead and gave the phone to Chase, "Keep him talking, I need to think. Maybe you might have better luck."

"Sure thing," Chase nodded

Marshall entered the room, "How are we doing, boss?"

"Marshall, what are you doing in here? Stay out in the hall! You're on watch!" Ryder pointed.

Marshall was shocked at the sudden snap and said nothing before peering in and turning to the door. Something got his eye.

"Wait, there sweating a lake," Marshall examined.

"Marshall, you can get a check-up on them when we get in there, got it?" Ryder snapped.

Skye and Chase stared at Ryder, also rather surprised at Ryder's attitude. Chase continued to keep Conroe occupied however.

"No, listen, if their sweating that means the heat is on in there and they're going to get dehydrated. That will only make the whole moment worse!"

"You think that's going to help? Get going!"

Marshall wanted to continue to his plan but he was obviously not wanted. He turned after apologizing and left.

Ryder shook his head but was surprised for Skye to grab him, take him out of the room, and to a separate area. She told Zuma to take some time inside.

'What was that?" She glared.

"What?" Ryder asked, "Skye, this is not important right now!"

"No, it is! You never talk to anyone like that, what's up?" She glared.

"Skye, I don't care about what your trying to do, but the longer you delay me the more you're going to get a suspension."

"Shut up and listen to me! No, in fact, listen to yourself! Marshall was only checking up on us, and trying to tell you something important and you point him to the door. You never do that! So you're going to tell me or you're going to sign my suspension papers. And _you_ are going to do it. Remember that."

Ryder stared her in the eyes and sighed, "I know exactly what he feels like. And I… I don't want to. I did it, Skye. I did exactly what he did but there was no one to stop me."

Skye listened intently. She kept her glare on to make sure he knew she wasn't going to be satisfied until he was done.

"There was a man who killed my entire squad. He nearly made me go mad. I stayed M.I.A for an entire year in his pit. He wanted information, I wouldn't give it to him. He killed every one of my squad members in front of me. The only thing stopping me was what they told me. Every one of them told me the same thing: don't give him the satisfaction. Don't give him the information. They kept on saying it all through they're torture until they died."

Around here Skye was beginning to lose her stare. She tried to stay strong but being the girl she was she couldn't.

"I… I kept on remembering them all through that conversation. I didn't know how to do it anymore. I didn't know how to convince him of anything. Everything I did was just like him. No one ever tried to stop me. How am I supposed to stop him from doing something I support?"

"By telling him," Skye replied, "Ryder, he needs to know that he feels what you do. He doesn't need to know that he's not alone, but he does need to know that he's supported. He needs to hear that story."

Ryder looked at the hall with his team. Marshall was the only one with his back turned. He was "too busy" to give him his eyes.

Ryder nodded and got back to the room. Chase tried to explain he wasn't making any progress but Ryder pat his shoulder and took the phone.

"Good job, Chase, you at least tried. Now listen, Conroe, and listen well because this is going to be out of my box. I support you in everything your doing because I've been there. I've done it. The only difference is that I had no one to stop me when I got the guy. You don't care whether or not you are alone, and I get it but what you need to know is this. I may support you, but I will stop you. You can kill that kid, but your trapped. There's nowhere to go and were just outside that door. We've got a charge ready to blow a hole inside and as soon as your gun goes off and hits that kid it's going to. Just because I am what I am today doesn't mean it's going to be you. I said it before, there's a big difference where we did this. And the destination is going to be different too. You will go to prison, and you will not get out. You know this, buddy. So I'm going to ask you one thing. Put down the gun and don't make us do this."

There was a long pause and he watched Conroe zone out. He still had the phone to his ear but he didn't say a word. He was now fixing his collar so he could breath.

"Do you need some air and time to think about it?" Ryder asked.

" _Yeah, I could use that_ ," Conroe replied calmly.

Ryder nodded and walked over to Marshall, who was still diligently watching the door. Marshall ignored his leader as he froze behind him. Ryder's hand pat his shoulder and left to the air-conditioning controls.

"Alright the airs on, you should be getting airflow now."

"Thanks," Conroe replied dully.

Now was the waiting game. Ryder leaned against the hall and stared at Marshall. He wasn't doing a thing but aiming at the door.

"Marshall," Ryder addressed.

"Sir?" Marshall asked.

 _Since when did he use 'sir'_? Ryder wondered, "I want to apologize for the way I snapped at you. If you have a plan I'd like to hear it now."

Marshall looked down and replied, "That was it, sir. I just thought if they had air they might feel better."

Ryder smiled and nodded, "Okay. Well, that' very thoughtful of you. I'll be sure Conroe knows that was your idea."

"Thanks," Marshall smiled briefly.

Ryder passed him up but stopped and stared at his back. Marshall was hiding something.

"Marshall, are you sure you weren't thinking of something else?"

Marshall paused but eventually replied, "If all goes south I was thinking… maybe… well, if would probably work if…"

"Marshall, I'm open for any ideas," Ryder assured him.

"Tear gas," Marshal finally let out, "The ventilation system would be able to brush the gas into the room and he'd pass out in seconds. The effects are worse when dehydration hits. We could breach the room and get them out then. As long as we put a large enough quantity inside he won't be able to shoot."

Ryder widened his eyes, "That it. That's perfect. Call Radar, find out what we can about the ventilation system. Rubble, get that thermal charge. Skye, we need tear gas."

"Copy," They replied and took off.

"Nice Job, Marshall," Ryder pat his back.

"Sure thing, Boss," Marshall smiled.

Ryder returned to the room and looked at Conroe and Marcus. They were pretty calm and silent right now. Nothing was happening between them.

X X X

Conroe stared at the floor, keeping his M9 in his right hand and looking at it once in a while. Marco looked at him uncomfortably but eventually began to ease.

"Listen, I want to say I'm sorry about your partner. I didn't actually mean to kill anyone," Marco started.

"Just… be quite."

"No, please, hear me out. I've never killed anyone before. I just… got to thinking about it and I really am sorry. I lost someone too."

Conroe was open to listening then. He looked up and stared at Marco.

"I have a family. I used to have a sister and mother but now it's just me and my sister. My mother died because of… an illness. Cancer, I think."

Conroe scoffed and asked, "You expect me to believe that?"

"Conroe, we could run a background check if you want," Ryder called.

Conroe didn't reply until he made up his mind to trust them. He nodded and let Marco continue.

"No, I don't actually. You probably heard a lot of stories like this. I… I didn't sell meth because I wanted money. I sold it because I needed the money. I tried getting a job everywhere I went but they didn't give it to me because I didn't have a diploma. I didn't have a license either. I met someone who called himself the Love Man. He helped a lot of people on the street who needed it. Helped me too. But then I asked him for a job and he ran me through some loyalty tests. Soon after is all started getting dark. I never knew he was a drug dealer but I didn't have much of a choice. He paid well and my sister needed it for her treatments. My mother did too. But she's gone now."

"Conroe, his story checks out, there's a hospital account under his name, and it clears as his sister. His mother also died on September eighth. Last month."

Conroe didn't respond. Marco began to cry again.

"Listen, man, if you want to kill me, do it. I don't' care anymore. But when you do, please please please help my sister. She' s all I have left."

Conroe looked up and sighed before taking his gun and putting it on the desk. He picked himself up and went for the door. Marco looked at the gun and back at Conroe.

"Hey, man… If your letting me go then you just tell me what I have to do to pay you back and I'll do it. I'll pay… I'll do everything I can… I swear. I'll do it somehow."

Conroe nodded and opened the door then drew back and took his gun. Then let Rubble and Rocky in. They tried to subdue him, but the gun went to his mouth, and before they could stop him went off.

Marco cried and shouted, "No!"

Conroe was gone. Alpha team watched, horrified at the scene. Marco sobbed watching the body bleed.

"Radar, get the morgue guys down here. He just committed suicide," Ryder called.

The team filled in the reports and what else needed to be done then left the scene. There was nothing more they could do there. After they returned they heard from Charlie team that their bust was a success. Everything was able to shut down for the day. They were free to go.

X X X

"Do you want to stay again?" Skye asked Chase who was on his bike.

Chase took a moment to thin about it and nodded, "Yeah, I think I do. I'm just tired after all that happened."

She giggled and pat his shoulder, "I've got something special for you at my house. It'll cheer you up."

He chuckled as she left. She got to her car and left first. It was a plan of theirs. She would leave first, he'd wait a while and leave second then go straight to her house. Marshall stopped him before he left.

"Hey, Chase!"

"Yeah?"

Marshall caught up to him and said, "Listen, brother, I've been thinking. Lately we've been kind of ignoring each other and I thought I'd break the ice. Tomorrow, wanna get something to eat? I know, you and Skye and everything but…"

"No, it's cool, Marshall, I'll do it. I could use a steak once in a while. French is nice but I'd like some mean grilled food for once."

"Hah, thanks bro. After work?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, I'll let Skye know. She'll understand," Chase smiled.

"Okay, see you tomorrow!"

"Night!"

Chase left and Marshall started to run to his bike. He froze and snapped his fingers.

"Woops, forgot my bag."

He ran to the door and accidently ran into someone coming out. Whoever it was was caught completely unaware.

"Oof, sorry. Didn't see you there," He laughed.

Oddly, the one he ran into was laughing too, "It's alright, I'm a tough girl."

Marshall smiled and lifted an eyebrow, "I don't believe I've seen you before. You signing up?"

"Yeah," She replied, "I recently moved into town and heard about this place. Just wanted to get in."

He nodded and nodded, "Well, I'll just get past you here and hope I don't run into anyone else."

"Okay, you do that," She smiled, "Oop, behind you."

He turned and unfortunately ran into Radar anyway. He was, again, carrying some paperwork.

"Nooo, Doc, why?" He whined, "I just…"

He tried to pick up the papers and Marshall began to help, "Sorry, Radar."

The woman giggled and approached to help. She was able to gather a few and place it on the desk they were getting to. After they were done Marshall took time to thank her.

"Thanks, and sorry about that. You'd better get going, it's getting late. I'd better get going myself, my apartment curfew is in a quarter till."

"It was nothing, and see you later, uh…"

"Marshall, Marshall Benton," He smiled.

She nodded and added, "I'm Everest. Everest Winters. My friends call me Husky."

"Husky? That's a tough name. You must have been the big one on the street then."

She giggled, "You could say that."

"Well, I'd best get going. Good bye, Everest. I hope you make it. And it was good seeing you."

"You too," She smiled before adding another, "You too."

She turned and put on a look that was almost hurt, "Why didn't he remember me?"

She turned and watched as he picked up his bag and tidied up another mess he made. She giggled and wiped her eyes that started to leak.

"Marshall, it's me… don't you remember?"

He didn't seem to notice her so she left. She never expected to see him here.


	4. Chapter 4: The Rookie

**5 years before present day/ November 19** **th** **, 2012/ 17:23 hours**

Everest's ears were ringing and she only just realized she was on her back. There were still large amounts of explosives and she could see stream clouds from the RPGs pass over her head. She tried to find her helmet, but it was nowhere within arm's reach. Her left shoulder began to hurt. When she bent up to check it should could hear discombobulated voices from behind her.

"Dude! She's still alive!"

"Husky! Hold on!"

She tried to see who it was but two arms grabbed her arms started to pull her back. Bullets began to fly and hit the two who were helping her.

"Man down! Man down!"

Another voice, this time unrecognizable shouted at them in a foreign language. She looked down and saw three men she could recognize as hostile. One of them looked at her and took out a knife. She tried to pull back but it was no use. She was doomed.

"Rangers inbound!" She heard and only saw the three hostiles drop down, lifeless.

"Medic! These guys are still alive!"

She heard running and someone slide right by her. When she turned she saw one of the best sights she'd probably see in the entire God-forsaken country.

"Hold on, soldier, I've got you," Smiled the medic.

He checked her wound and poured some sort of powder on it then took some heavy gauze and wrapped it around her bloody shoulder. He picked her up, bridal style since he knew fireman's wasn't going to help her wound one bit.

There he ran to a helicopter and shouted at his escorts, "You two stay here and help out the other two, get them on the next chopper, this one's full!"

"Got it, doc!" They replied.

He and two other medics were tending to two other soldier's wounds. When she looked him in the eyes he gave her a light, comforting smile.

"Hey there, what's a pretty face like you doing in a hellish place like this?" He grinned.

She chuckled weakly and replied, "Checking out the boys. Especially medics."

He laughed and started to tend to her wound more, "Is that so? Not very many soldiers want to see a medic. Especially in here."

"Shame, there missing out," She smiled.

"Hey, don't fall asleep," He warned, "Might fall into a coma; I don't know if you got a trauma or not. Just try to stay up for as long as you can."

"That's not going to be hard. Not when I'm staring at you," She jested.

Although it was just jokes flying around, she couldn't help but wonder if she meant it. She never flirted with anyone, much less a medic cutting her clothes off, stripping her bare.

"Well, maybe I can… take you out for a… dang these are tough… for a drink some time. When you make it."

"I'm remembering that," She smiled suggestively.

A few hours later and she was in the aid station getting operated on. She only had an open wound on her shoulder and something on her leg. It was just bits of shrapnel from a hand grenade. It would restrict her from walking. Still, she was glad to be alive.

 **November 22** **nd** **, 2012/ 09:42 hours**

Everest woke up to a bunch of doctors and nurses shuffling about. There was shouting—not in a panic but because of noise—and groaning all through the tent. It was extremely hot inside and fans were blowing everywhere. She examined her surroundings this time more alert, like having plenty of hours to sleep. A familiar face showed up after helping another patient with a leg injury.

He noticed her and smiled warmly, "Ah, she's alive. How you doing, girl?"

She smiled back and replied, "Just waiting for the drink you promised me. When do I get that, handsome?"

The medic looked around and shrugged also taking a look at her clip board, "How are you feeling?"

"Like a new woman," She replied.

"Well, I could take you now," He grinned putting it down.

"Sounds good," She tried to get up but the pain in her leg stopped her, "Ow."

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," She replied, "Shrapnel wound on my leg is stopping me."

"I'll get a wheel chair," He smiled.

He came back and helped her in it then pushed her out. Outside was no better that inside the tent. Still hot as hell and breezeless.

"Who are you by the way?" She asked.

"Sgt. Benton, Doc Benton to everyone else. You can call me Marshall."

"Marshall?" She echoed, "That's a nice name."

"You'd be the second to think so," Marshal laughed, "No one seems to respect the name around here. I just go by Doc Benton for them."

"Who was the first?"

"My brother, Chase. Not an official or blood brother but, you know: friends. He's not here right now. He's out there, watching our boys in the city. He's a sniper, see? Considered a living, breathing legend too. Sharp eyes and never misses."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'm a medic, as you already know. I'm not a bad shot myself. Otherwise I'd probably not hit those three guys trying to kill you."

"Thanks," She smiled.

"It's my job," He assured.

"I'm Everest by the way. Pvt. Everest Winters. Friends call me Husky."

"Mm, that's a nice name too," He smiled.

"Glad you think so, handsome," She grinned.

He laughed and said, "You keep that flirting up, and I might actually fall for you. That's dangerous ground, Miss Winters."

"Hey Husky!" Someone yelled.

She turned and grinned, "Do-Good, Strat!"

They waddled over to her and greeted her, "She's still alive, how ya doin'?"

"Fine, you guys look like crap though," She jested.

"It's Afghanistan. It'll do that to ya. All's we got was a few hits to the stomach and legs, what about you?" Strat asked.

"Shoulder and lower calf," She replied.

"Got it," Do-Good smiled, "Hey, you the medic we get to thank for helping our little girl out of that mess?"

"You could say that," Marshall replied.

"Where you takin' her?"

"Mess tent for a drink. Well, not a proper one. Unfortunately, we don't have alcohol and I never specified so…"

"Nice," Strat smiled, "Well, take care of her. We're trusting you, doc."

"Don't worry, she's safe with me," Marshall said patting her shoulder.

"Ow," Everest covered the area he pat and laughed, "Carful doc."

"Oh, sorry," Marshall chuckled, "Let's go."

"See ya, Husky," Do-Right waved and went on his way with Strat.

"Not a proper one, huh?" She questioned with a grin.

"Yeah, sorry," He scratched his head, "You probably couldn't have it anyway, meds and all."

She laughed and shook her head, "It's alright; I don't drink anyway."

"Neither do I," He shrugged.

Everest laughed with him. During their time in the mess hall, she actually found that he was pretty likable. They had gotten to know each other for a few weeks and something began to develop. Whatever it was, it would be nothing but trouble if someone figured out about it. That went for the both of them.

 **January 14, 2012/ 19:03 hours**

"Get out! Get out! Medic!"

Everest couldn't run but she had enough tolerance to at least get away. She looked for Marshall, she didn't want to go without him.

"Marshall!" She screamed, "Marshall!"

She couldn't find him anywhere. Suddenly, before she could look any further, a mortar landed close and forced her back a couple of feet. She groaned and covered her shoulder since the impact banged it. It was fine but something else was wrong. She felt something wet and a bit sticky. It smelled like iron. When she pulled it to her eyes she knew she was bleeding. She started to choke and spit it out. She had wounded her throat. With the last of her airway she called for Marshall. He didn't come. She tried again, but still he didn't come. She cried thinking she was going to die. She whispered his name this time wishing to see him one more time.

"Marshall."

Then, when she closed her eyes, she felt someone grab him, "Everest! I'm here!"

He dragged her out of the mess of some tent and put her down to mend her throat. She cried seeing him.

"Marshall."

"Ssh, it's okay! You're going to be fine," He checked her wound and licked his lips, "It mist the most important stuff, but you still got some blood coming out."

He grabbed some gauze and put it onto her wound then tied it down just tight enough to keep her from bleeding out. She puked out more blood as soon as she was set up. Marshall's eyes widened.

"This is beyond my skill, Everest. We'll have to get you to an actual doctor. I'll get you on the bus."

"Don't leave me," She begged.

"Don't worry it's going to be okay," He assured her.

He picked her up and got her too the bus then heard the one word that would take him away from her, "Medic!"

"I've got to get him, I'll be right back!"

"No…Marshall…no!" She cried.

"It's going to be okay, he's just fight there!" He assured her.

She grabbed him and, with all the voice she had, barely let out, "Don't leave me!"

He stared at her and kissed her ignoring the blood and saliva coating her lips. She relaxed, but he pulled away.

"No! Marshall!" She tried to shout, but he couldn't hear it; no one could.

He ran to the wounded soldier, her hand stretched out to him begging, "Don't leave me!"

When Marshall had finally stabilized the soldier, he picked him up, fireman's carry, and started to run for the bus. She watched hopelessly when not a minute later a mortar hit his location. Everest cried and reached out to him. He and the soldier weren't getting up.

"Crap! We've got to go!" Shouted the soldier covering the bus, "The mortars are getting closer, get the wounded out of here, let's go!"

"Copy that!" The driver shouted.

The doors closed and he slammed the accelerator. Everest tried to detest but she couldn't be heard. Another medic began to tend to her wound, but she fought. She just wanted to die. Marshall, to her, was gone. However, in truth, he was only wounded. Marshall opened his eyes, his ears ringing and vision a bit blurry.

"Marshall!" Shouted a distorted voice, "Marshall! Marshall, get up! Get up! get up; get up; get up! Come on, we gotta move!"

"Chase?" He asked widening his eyes, trying to clear his vison, "What happened? Where am I?"

"I'll explain everything later! Let's go!" He dragged him to a jeep and drove off.

When Marshall's head injury was diagnosed, it appeared he had a minor case of amnesia. His short term memory was the only thing affected. Anything within three months was forgotten.

 **Present day/ November 23** **rd** **, 2017/ 13:00 hours**

Everest waited in the waiting room—obviously—for Katie to call her in. It was about one-thirty in the afternoon, or thirteen hundred hours, which was the exact time of her appointment. That didn't just mean a meeting. As the C.I.A promised, she was trained, for about four months, and given a way into the P.A.W.S. However she was to keep her involvement in the C.I.A classified. Today was her "appointment" to her new team.

"Miss Winters," Addressed an assistant, "The Secretary will see you now."

"Thank you," Everest smiled.

She followed her to Katie's office. Katie was on the phone with someone.

"You sure? No, not for me, that's why I'm asking you. Alright see you then. You too, bye. Sgt. Winters, have a seat."

Everest sat down, but shook her hand before, "It's a pleasure to be here, ma'am."

"It's a pleasure to have you," Katie smiled, "We know each other so we'll just skip to the assignment. As I understand, you are under orders of the C.I.A to keep your agency quite. Do not tell anyone in your team of you involvement."

"Yes, ma'am, they went over that," Everest nodded.

"Good," She clicked on her computer, "I see you have quite a few injuries on record, all of them have heald?"

"Fully," Everest grinned.

"Oh, wonderful! That's a good deal," Katie celebrated.

"I had a good medic."

Katie nodded, "Well God bless him, wherever he is."

Everest chuckled and added, "He's probably not too far away. Dead or not."

Katie looked at her puzzled but chose to ignore it, "Well, off that. Your records show your pretty lethal and an expert shooter. We could use those but can you talk to people?"

"Ma'am?"

"Can you relate ease, can you talk to them? Understand them?" Katie asked.

Everest paused and replied, "I've been doing too much of that, actually. Whether I'm good at it or not is completely up to the person."

Katie smiled, "You'll fit right in around here. Unfortunately, I can't have you meet your team leader because he's in a meeting. That goes for second in command. You'll just have to meet the next best person. He's on his way up. You'll be placed in Alpha Squad, as you surely know. Good luck."

"Thank you. Uh, who is this… 'next best person'?" Everest asked.

A knock on the door and the assistant pulled it open. Marshall stepped in and apologized for his delay.

"Sorry I'm late; I had a mess to clean up with some boys. New recruits for Foxtrot Squad."

"That's alright, Benton. Please, take a seat," Katie laughed.

Marshall sat down and Everest's eye's nearly popped out of her head. Marshall looked at her and laughed to himself.

"Well, fancy meeting you here."

"You know Winter, Mr. Benton?"

"Just met her a few months back," Marshall replied, "Don't know if you remember that."

"Of course!" Everest grinned, "How do you do, Doc?"

"Heh, didn't forget that, eh? Well, I think this will be a short introduction."

"Then I'll leave you to it. Miss Winters, again, I wish you good luck."

"Thank you, ma'am," Everest smiled.

Then exited the room and took the elevator. For Everest it was awkward but to Marshall it was an exciting, new day.

"I have to say, I didn't expect a new member to join with us. No one seemed to reach our level. No matter how hard they tried."

Everest was still silent. To ease it she would nod or emote in some way.

"I'll warn you know, this is a pretty rough life. There's a lot you'll be asked of and more will be expected form you in this team. But don't get too scared, we've got your back. I hope we keep you, you seem like a nice enough person to work with."

Everest giggled this time, "I don't suppose you get a lot of those."

"No we don't. When I say nice, I mean tough. I don't really give a crap about your attitude unless it's costing us. Since I'm showing you around, I'm responsible for you. Oh, but don't get too uncomfortable with us. You're not the only female."

Everest relaxed, it was a bit of a fear-factor to be in a team full of guys who don't know her. She was used to being surrounded, but, in a team this small, it somehow terrified her.

"Really?"

"Her name is Skye," Marshall nodded, "She's like my little sister. She's really great. You'll love her."

"Do you?" Everest asked as a test.

He didn't fall for it, "Do I what?"

Everest rolled her eyes, "Love her, Do you love her?"

"Define love," He shrugged, "Do I love her to the extent I'm willing to get out of this team? Not quite."

Now what did he mean by that? Everest figured she wouldn't want to know.

"Do I love her because she's my friend? Almost but it's an undershot."

Now that could be understood. That just means he didn't want to be her friend. Or something of the sort.

"Do I love her because she's family? Absolutely. That is the love I have for her: brotherly love."

So that's what he meant then. Everest smiled satisfied. He kept his promise. Something he probably wasn't aware of. He seemed to forget everything else. Everest couldn't help but stare at him. She still couldn't believe it. He had forgotten all about her. All this time, she thought he was dead. She finds him and he doesn't remember her. She wanted to tell him everything, but she could only see him thinking her crazy. Now wasn't the time.

"Here we are, first floor. Come on, everyone's probably eager to meet you. Well, they probably would fi they knew you were coming. It was just a rumor till now."

Everest followed him and Marshall got the teams attention, "Listen up team, we've got someone knew."

The team looked up and greeted Everest. Zuma was the first to speak. She tried not to laugh at his odd speech.

"Hey, nice to meet you," He brought up a hand.

Everest shook it and snickered, "You too."

"What?" Zuma arched an eyebrow.

"Nothing," she replied, "My name is Everest; it's an honor to be in this team."

"Well, I'm Skye, it's great to see another female for once," Skye introduced with the brightest smile.

"I'm glad you're here," Everest smiled, "I've been an only female for far too long. It's nice to have on watching my back."

"Me too," Skye laughed coming up close, "And I have to say, these boys have been giving me a hard time with all their mess. I think you and I can beat some sense into them. You know?"

"All too well, sister," Everest chuckled, "I had three brothers and, God, they were the messiest things on earth. I swear, they're probably hoarders right now."

Skye laughed with her and added, "The only brother I've really had is Marshall, and he's actually pretty neat. Needs to watch where he's going though."

"Hey!"

"Amen! Skye! A-men!" Radar applauded from the distance.

"Oh that's Radar, intelligence officer and reserve operative," Skye introduced.

"Bonjour," He greeted with a nod of the head.

"And those two are Rocky and Rubble," Skye pointed at the weights.

The two were doing some workouts while waiting to get to work. But they both said a greeting.

"And… you'll meet Chase and Ryder later. Ryder's the leader, and Chase is our second in command."

"Speak of the devil; here they come," Radar pointed.

"Listen up!" Ryder called, "We've got multiple situations to cover today! Let's get to them and keep the peace!"

They stopped everything they were doing and followed him to the briefing room. Marshall motioned Everest to follow.

"Looks like were about to see what you can do," He smiled.

She chuckled and smiled back. Ryder put some papers on a board along with some mugshots.

"We have so far three with the thoughts that maybe more situations may take place today. So far, we've got three but expect more. We have a manhunt in the forest for a kidnapper who's got a kid, age twelve, blind, blond hair, blue eyes, Caucasian and has a limp. Marshall, can you identify why from this photo?"

Marshall looked at it and replied, "Sclerosis. Major case. Its arching his pelvic regions."

"Alright that's adding more to the problem. We don't know why the kidnapper took the kid but it happened and we're going to get him back to his mother. The suspect of the kidnapper is her ex-husband. However, he moved away from Adventure Bay City a year ago. It is unknown if he came back for the kid. He is located somewhere around Little Hootie Woods. We'll search there. Next, we have another drug dealer needed to be taken down. When we come back, were going to run threw some drills and practices, make a battle plan, and get this runt to prison. Finally, we have a violent woman keeping her husband hostage in her house. Suspected him of adultery, turned bad, daughter called the police and hightailed out. We'll split the team, I'm going to get this mother, Chase, you figure out how to get this kid. Any questions?"

Everest raised her hand, "What are the split teams."

"Ah, you must be Winters. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Ryder," Ryder shook her hand, "You'll go with Marshall, Chase, Skye, and Rocky. Rubble, Radar, and Zuma will come with me. Radar, you might be stretched thin but take your time, okay?"

Radar nodded, "Sure thing, boss."

"Alright, let's keep the peace, Alpha Team!"

The teams split, and went both south and west of the city. Little Hootie Woods was west. The woman's house was north, up in the less populated area. Police cars surrounded the area.

"Give me a sit-rep," Ryder commanded an officer.

"She's in the master bedroom with the husband. The daughter is over there. Mother's got a knife and keeping the father tied up."

"What windows are the maser bedroom's?"

"Ask the daughter. Her name is Carla,' Replied the officer.

"Alright, stand by for any escalations or movement in any other parts of the house."

"You got it."

"Alpha team, check the perimeter!" Ryder called.

Rubble and Zuma took off but Radar was still in his van. Ryder called him.

"Radar, stretch your legs for two minutes and check the perimeter."

"You got is, boss-man."

Radar picked up his MP5 and opened the van then took to making sure the perimeter is secure. Ryder approached Carla, stopped the paramedics from checking her, and sat next to her.

"Carla, my name is Cpt. Ryder Mason, I'm here to help your parents," He said softly.

"Please, you need to stop my mother, she won't listen to him. Dad would never cheat on her!"

"Well, Carla, we hope to be sure she understands that and no one gets hurt. Can you tell me what started this?" Ryder asked taking out a notebook.

"Well, dad came home from work and everything was great. She was happy, I was happy; everyone was. He went to their room and she followed him and it was quite for about… three hours. Suddenly there was shouting, I went to go check and mom was… she was waving a knife around at him. He was tied up. There was a bra on the ground and his bag was opened. She said she found it inside. He tried to explain and promised he didn't cheat on her. I tried to explain it was mine but she won't listen. She knows how much I love dad and covered for him several times. It really is mine, I swear. I used that bag for a trip with my friends! I forgot to unpack it. I'm such an idiot!"

"No, Carla, you're not. This all just a misunderstanding that needs to be cleared up," Ryder said, grabbing her hand and comforting her, "Were going to do everything we can to help, I promise."

"Okay," She sobbed.

"How old are you?" Ryder asked.

"Sixteen," She replied.

"Sir name?"

"Revenson."

Ryder nodded, "So Carla Revenson, does your parents argue much?"

"No, there actually almost disgusting to watch," She giggled, "They rarely argue about anything."

Ryder nodded and Zuma called on the coms, "Ryder, the area is secure but I think I see movement in the back of the house, second floor window."

"That might be them," Ryder mused, "Zuma cane you see anymore?"

"No, the blinds are closed. I sure can hear her though," Said Zuma.

"Roger that, Zuma, stand by. If it escalates let me know."

Ryder stared at the house, there was no knowing what this would turn out like. He felt a challenge from a game of chess arise; which piece should he move first, though?

X

Chase, Marshall, Skye, and Everest arrived at the forest and parked at a national park, parking lot. Little Hootie Woods was one of two forests located on Adventure Bay Island. The other being Blackfur Forest. Little Hootie Woods was much larger, however. So finding the kidnapper and the kid he took would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Maybe vise versa being how the woods were infamous of their mudslides and somewhat dangerous falls.

"Alright, this is the location where the mother last saw the subject with the kid. We're going to find out where they might generally be and start looking. Radar, this is Chase."

Radar didn't respond for a few seconds, "I read you, what's up?"

"Is there any way you can track the subject from his phone?" Chase asked.

"If he's got it on," Radar replied, "Tracking… wait there's two signatures. They're far apart. It looks like they are actually communicating. I'm intercepting them now."

" _I don't care how long it takes just be there!_ "Shouted a voice.

The other sounded a lot more shady, " _Patience my friend, you're the one on foot here. I will be there on time, but I suspect your being followed by now. You should be careful, the prison you'll go to is not a friendly one._ "

" _Just shut up and don't be late,_ " Growled the kidnapper.

" _Likewise my friend._ "

The call ended and Radar cursed, "I almost got them separated. I can't find out which one's the kidnapper, they're both stationary. You'll have to split up."

"Got it, Everest go with Marshall; I'll take Skye, let's get moving!" Chase ordered.

The four loaded up and took off to different directions according to the locked on targets. Marshall gave Everest a smile.

"First mission's pretty exciting, eh?"

"Mm, I've done plenty of this back on my day in the army. This is just review," She grinned.

They chuckled and continued to jog. Skye looked at Chase raised her eyebrows.

"Your setting him up, aren't you?"

He lifted an eyebrow, "What? Setting him up? Come on, Skye, this is serious, this is no time to talk about how I practically rigged the team set up to help my best friend get a girl which he really needs to get on with life. Besides, we may be breaking the rules, but Marshall respects them and he's not willing to risk his job because he likes a girl. Sheesh."

He shook his head and jogged the other direction. Skye smiled and shook her head.

"How do you know he likes her?" Skye asked running behind him.

"It's not so much he likes her it's the other way. You see, Skye, she practically stared at him the entire car ride. She also seems to mingle well with him. I think she's like you: she likes to ignore the rules and seduce her pray."

"I didn't seduce you," Skye laughed.

"Yes you did," Chase replied, "How you were walking should have been illegal. I could have been accused of ogling and sent to jail."

"Then that's your fault, you're the one who looked at the direction," Skye shot back.

Chase smiled and deflected, "Well, you're the one who winked at me."

Skye couldn't counter that one. She did wink at him after she caught him staring. That was actually the final straw between them. She would never admit it, but she did walk in her seductive way on purpose too.

X X X

Marshall and Everest jogged a couple of feet before settling and looking at a portable screen to find their targets. To Marshall the whole thing was a job, but for Everest it felt completely awkward. She didn't know how to talk to him or how to not act like she actually knew him for five years. Things like that scared people, which was the last thing she'd want to do to him. All this time she thought he was actually K.I.A. When she bumped into him a while back she had to restrain everything she had to not kiss him. However she wanted to know if she could jog his memory at all. Maybe she could tell him that way and it wouldn't be so awkward. But first, she wanted to know what he was doing all this time.

"So, Marshall, this the only thing you do for a living?" She asked.

Marshall nodded, "Yeah it's the only thing I can find that I'm good at. I was selected a while back to have a chance in getting in and I took with. Incidentally, Chase was too."

"Chase, he's your best friend?" Everest shrugged.

"Yeah, I guess it's pretty noticeable , huh?" Marshall grinned.

Everest shrugged again, "Yeah, sort of. You say it was the only thing you were good at. Were you a medic; did you stay a medic at all, if so?"

"No, as many lives I saved I lost and took three times as much. So, I decided to just drop it and give in to the fact I was more a professional killer than healer. What better to do that then Delta Force?"

"Delta?" Everest's eyes nearly popped.

So that was why she never saw him at any bases, he was out in a bout doing more important things. She let her surprise be noticed, maybe too much.

"So being a Ranger wasn't enough, huh?"

Marshall turned and looked at her oddly. She realized she had slipped and her throat became dry, seeing him stare at her like her did. She kept her cool, didn't apologize, and waited for his to say something.

"How did… how did you know I was a Ranger?" He finally asked, breaking the silence, "I don't remember ever telling you that."

She took a moment to laugh, angrily, in her head and say to him in her imagination, "you wouldn't." In fact, she could say many things to him right now. All of them, angry, all of them, hurt. He didn't remember times they had with each other, the things they shared… He didn't even remember her as a patient. Ever Doc remembers those. Instead, she kept her cool and in the two seconds of silence she shook her head and replied to him.

"Marshall, every good soldier knows what they want to be looks like. I always wanted to be a ranger but I can't, because I wouldn't be able to handle the training. It's too much. I've seen a lot of Rangers with your same exact build. However, they tend to look the same with the Delta so I would never have anticipated you being one. In fact, my first guess was that you were a Ranger. Second would have to be a Marine, third, an Airborne. But, I think I figured it out, that you were a Ranger."

Marshall's confusion turned into a grin and a surprised, in fact impressed, nod, "Wow. The only other person I knew could do that was Chase. Your probably one of the best additions we had in this team since Radar."

"There were others?" Everest asked.

"Yeah, but, like a said a while back, they left. Couldn't handle the responsibility."

Everest nodded, "So how long were you a ranger?"

"Ten years," Marshall replied, "One of them's pretty fuzzy. I lost five weeks of my memory due to a mortar shell."

Everest's eyes popped and her emotions eased. She felt a wave of relief hit but disappointment followed. If he lost his memory like that, he may never regain it. But, on the bright side, she knew why he didn't recognize her, and she knew he didn't forget on purpose. It wasn't his fault. She smiled, one disguised as sympathy, and apologized.

"I'm sorry. You must have forgotten a lot of important things those five weeks."

"Yeah," Marshall nodded, "I don't know why, but… I feel like I forgot something important that day I was hit. Even today it burns in my memory."

"Like forgetting a piece of your life?" Everest asked.

Marshall nodded, "Exactly! But it almost feels like… Ah, never mind. Forget it," He laughed it off.

She put up her hands as if she were stepping back and replied, "Sure thing, sorry I asked."

"It's fine, I feel like I needed to talk about it. To tell you the truth, I feel a lot better about it now."

"Well, I'm glad to have helped," She chuckled.

"And I'm glad you did," He added.

The silence returned and made the moment awkward for her again. She didn't see anything within the forest for distances, even though there were trees, and there was no movement. Were they off course? She didn't ask that, like she wanted. Instead, she indulged her curiosity about one other thing.

"So, you married off yet? A guy like you ought to have had a girl faint for you."

Marshall laughed and replied, "No, I'm not married. I haven't even dated, much less been in bed with a girl."

Everest laughed with him, but she hid her face and scratched her neck as it died down. Even if he did get his memory back, she'd have a hard time explaining what happened. One who is curious should just know that it would be fitting not only to ban alcohol but make sure someone didn't sneak any of it inside a certain medic's water canister. Who knows what could happen then? Well, she did.

"Oh, that's too bad. You ought to go looking for a girl," She grinned but only out of courtesy, _don't you dare listen to that!_

Marshall sighed, "I get that a lot. I think I should just fess up to it and say I'm not interested."

"What, in girls?" Everest jested.

"No," Marshall shook his head, "In a relationship. I don't know why; I don't have any good reasons; I just don't want to."

"Why's that?" Everest asked curiously.

Marshall shook his head, "I don't know. For some reason I feel like I'm just… waiting."

"Waiting?" Everest asked, "For who?"

Marshall shook his head again, clearly getting flustered now, "I don't know and every time I think about it I get upset. Look, I'm sorry, I shouldn't be taking this out on you. I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

Everest smiled softly and replied, "I d… contact! Over there!"

He turned and shouted, "P.A.W.S! Freeze!"

Whoever was moving took off on a run. He was holding something. It was the kid! Marshall quickly called Chase and took off after the subject. The ex-husband was confirmed. It was him.

X

After a couple of seconds Ryder took out a megaphone and called, "Mable Revenson! This is the P.A.W.S! We just want to talk! We're going to call your phone; you need to pick up!"

He nodded at Radar who called her phone on command. They waited and she picked up.

"Who is this?" She asked enraged.

"Mrs. Revenson, my name is Cpt. Ryder Mason. Is everything alright in there?" Asked Ryder.

"Alright? Alright! There's nothing alright with what this sicko did to me!" She screamed on the phone.

"Mrs. Revenson I know your angry but you gotta stay calm for me. I don't know if your holding anything or not but if you are and it's a knife you could end up doing something you'll regret later."

"The only thing I regret is marrying this thing for a husband!"

Ryder sighed and rubbed his face a little. He took a moment to think.

"Mrs. Revenson, do want to tell me what went on today? What happened that this had to take place. Why is your daughter crying? Why is she afraid?"

Mable clamed thinking about her daughter and asked, "Carla? Is she okay?"

"Carla's fine but she's worried that you're going to kill her father. Are you going to betray her like that, Mable? She needs her parents. She tried to tell you that bra was hers and not someone else's. Why didn't you believe her?"

"It's not her size," Mable replied, "There's no way it was hers. That wasn't her size!"

Ryder looked at Carla. She was talking to another officer.

"Rocky, can you go talk to Carla for me, please? She needs to explain why she has a bra size that doesn't fit her in his bag."

"Got it, Ryder," Rocky replied.

He made his way to Carla and tapped the officer. He greeted her, told her his name, and then proceeded to his questions.

"Carla, we looked into your story and you said the bra was yours, right?" Rocky asked.

"Yes," She nodded.

"You mother says it's a different size than yours. Why is that?" He asked.

Carla turned bright red and hid her face, "God, this is so embracing."

Rocky knew then there was going to be a story not of his liking. He sighed internally and braced for the teenage girl story that would scar him of his future parenthood.

"I… it is mine. I just… My friend and I went on a trip and we talked about… you know… boys?"

Rocky groaned but not audibly. He needed to get this story from her to help the situation. Now would have been a good time for Skye to be here. Or maybe the new member Everest.

"And one of the things we came across was that boys like… bigger chests."

Rocky nodded as if to be engaging. He may have been hearing her out, but he was gagging inside.

 _Why me?_

"So… well… I'm not very big and we really wanted boyfriends. So, instead of getting our original sizes we got one bigger and…stuffed them."

Rocky nodded, "That's good enough, did you get that Ryder?"

Ryder sighed and replied, "Whatever it was, I didn't hear it."

"I left the come on, you should have got that," Rocky mumbled so she wouldn't hear.

"Sorry, Rocky, but I didn't," Ryder shook his head.

Rocky groaned and replied, "She wanted a boyfriend and she got a size bigger then stuffed them with something, good?"

"Okay, bring her in she needs to be the one to tell that to her mother not me."

Rocky confirmed and brought her into the van. This was the most awkward situation they had yet.

X

Marshall and Everest took off after the man with the child in his arms. By now, Chase and Skye had caught up and were helping in the pursuit. He had nowhere to run except where he thought was his way out.

"Were gaining on him, don't let up!" Chase shouted.

They tried their best, but it didn't go without hazards. Everest slipped on some mud and it took her down a hill her shin scrapped against a sharp rock opening it up a little. It wasn't deep but it was still bleeding pretty bad. Marshall slid down to her.

"Just go! I've got her!" Marshall shouted.

The chase continued. Marshall leaned down to her.

"You alright?"

Everest breathed in sharply, "Yeah, I'm fine. It's my shin I scrapped it."

He looked at it, taking some scissors and cutting the pants to reveal it. The wound was pleading pretty bad. He dug into his bag and got something to wipe and clean the wound. He cleared some of the blood then disinfected what he could. It hurt enough to make her flinch like she leg was having a seizure. Finally, he took some gauze and bandage then covered and wrapped the wound.

"So that's why they call you doc," She smiled.

"Only Radar does," Marshall replied, "But it's nice that I know what I'm doing at a time like this."

"And it's nice to have someone who knows what they're doing at times like this," Everest smiled.

Marshall chuckled. Everest stared at him and his hands at work. One thing she remembered about his operating skills was how gentle he could be. It almost felt like a massage. He caught her staring and made the moment stop.

"Something wrong?" He asked.

She shook her head, "Nothing, just a memory." _That you wouldn't remember._

He nodded in understanding and picked her up bridal style. The action surprised her but sent memories flying past her. It was short lived when he set her down on a rock.

"Okay, try to walk, the rock will support you if you find you can't do it."

She sighed and stood up. The shin felt fine, a bit enflamed, but fine. She nodded giving him the sign she was fine. By that time they got a message from Chase they got the kidnapper. They just needed to link up with Ryder now.

X

Ryder continued to talk to Mable and try to get her to stop her act and accept arrest. The sentence wouldn't be too long with what went on. She was fighting a bit, however, or was a bit hesitant. It was then when Ryder got a call that the rest of his team was coming and linking up. It only took an hour for that to happen. Still, Mable wasn't biting.

"Dang, this lady is resilient. I'm beginning to wonder if she even cares about this family anymore," Ryder ran is fingers through his hair.

"Alpha Team B is here," Rubble brought to his attention.

"But so is someone else," Rocky added.

Zuma looked over and put his hand over his eyes to block the sun, "It looks like another team. We didn't call for backup."

"No we didn't," Ryder agreed.

"Boss, we're being recalled. Echo Team is taking our spot here and we've got to rush to our bust. There's a firefight going on. A gang war just started.

"And the people rejoiced, singing halleluiah. This situation was getting fare too difficult anyway," Ryder sighed, "Alpha Team let's round up! Officer Thomas, get that guy and the kid and put them where they belong, we've got an emergency situation on our hands!"

"Copy," Replied the cop.

"Let's move team!" Ryder shouted.

The team loaded and took off. Marshall checked Everest's leg to make sure it was alright. Skye examined it.

"Looks bad," She commented.

"It's not that bad, not compared to what I got in Afghanistan," Everest smiled.

Chase called Ryder's com and notified him, "Ryder, Everest took a fall in the forest and her legs hurt pretty bad. What should we do with her?"

"I can still shoot," Everest protested being taken out of a situation.

Ryder wasn't thinking on it however, "Can you shoot a Remington 700?"

Everest nodded, "Yes."

"Chase, give her that and park at the distance, she's shooter today. Radar, you're going to need to take her place on breach maneuvers and counter strikes.

"Copy that, boss-man," Radar affirmed.

"Let's get over there and keep the peace, everyone!"

Chase parked at a nearby building the house still in view and gave Everest a rifle. Then he took off with the other three. The firefight was at full throttle now. There was no way to stop it without a fight.

"What do we do, Ryder?" Chase asked.

"I'm getting authorization from HQ about that," He replied.

The team stood idle behind cover and waited. Finally Ryder's hand went up and circled then pointed.

"Weapons free!"

The team pulled out and fired on several targets. Ryder ordered Chase to take a half of the team and take the house. Ryder and his team would try to force the road gang to surrender. Otherwise it was time to take them out. When he tried a few spotted him and opened fire. Zuma, being on his team, took out the shooter, getting attractions from more. Rubble joined him in the offensive, Ryder and Radar popping in and out one in a while.

"Throwing a flash!" Radar called.

"Cover up! Flash is close!" Ryder shouted.

The flash went off and caught them a bit but they were able to take out their targets quickly before they could recover.

"Move up!" Ryder ordered.

"More coming in!" Rubble warned, "I think they called for backup!"

"What's in there that they want so much?" Ryder asked.

"You don't think they were taking the law into their own hands and trying for a hostage rescue do you?"

Ryder shook his head and waved, "Wave off, we need to just wait for Chase! Chase! Do you read me? It's Ryder, look for hostages or shipment in the building! Whatever these guys want they want it bad!"

"Copy that, breaching the back of the house!" Chase shouted.

Ryder turned and two targets dropped that were aiming for him. He looked back and Everest was pulling back her bolt to load another bullet into her chamber. Ryder nodded in thanks. She nodded back.

Meanwhile, Chase set a charge on the door and broke inside as soon as it blew. There were a few guys inside trying to stop them. Marshall fired on two closest to Chase who fired on the upstairs inside balcony. Rocky covered by taking out three more guys who came in from door on the right and the room was clear except for the guys who were firing on the road.

"Ignore the guys up there, we're going downstairs!" Chase said, "Skye, cover us, Rocky, breach the door."

Rocky looked at Marshall and Chase who nodded and he kicked the door down. Marshall threw a flash bang. Rocky took cover next to Chase for the flash bang to go off and give them time to get inside. They found about half the house inside trying to fire on them but the flash was still lingering and they couldn't aim worth anything. They were easily taken down. Some of them surrendered, dropping their weapons and hands put up.

"Everyone on the ground, on the ground now!" Marshall shouted.

Rocky and Chase helped him subdue what was left. After that Chase looked around the basement and found a few crates. When he checked them he found a bunch of guns set inside.

"Okay, that's what they must have wanted," He nodded, "Ryder, we've found a shipment of weapons."

"Hold on Chase, that doesn't look like that all," Rocky grinned.

He lifted a gun and pat the board. It sounded a bit hollow. Chase grinned too and they broke a board.

"Ho, double steal," Chase chuckled, "They were obviously not very happy. Ryder, they had weapons and drugs. These guys were not happy with them."

"So, that explains why they are using so many men to try and get them back. I'm calling in backup, secure the house and hold it, were coming in," Ryder informed.

"Copy that, securing the house," Chase confirmed, "Let's take the house, Alpha!"

"What about these guys?" Marshall asked.

"Tie them to a pole and gag them. Cover their eyes. Let's see how they like it."

"Roger that," Rocky rubbed his hands together with a sinister grin.

After he was done, they weren't going anywhere. They had to wonder if the men could even breath. They sounded like it, so Marshall, being a bit more compassionate about it, didn't say anything.

They met Skye upstairs and told her the plan then continued to clear every room. That was followed by a quick sweep upstairs. The routine was simple: stack up, break down a door, take out targets. Last part excluded Skye. She was too hesitant to fire her weapons. She never killed anyone and she didn't want to start now. It was making her nervous. Should a door be open, the task was to throw a flash and shoot unless there were some takers for jail, to which they would subdue and tie up then move on. Ryder's team had by now gotten in and held off the other gang. More reinforcements came.

"They really want that shipment!" Shouted Zuma.

"No kidding, I've never seen a gang this angry!" Rocky called.

Marshall looked around and his eyes widened, "Where's Everest?"

Ryder looked around and saw her fending off some of the gang. They were beginning to approach her position.

He curst strongly and called her on the coms, "Everest! Where are you?"

"Still in the same place!" She replied, "I could use some help here! They're closing in on me!"

"Chase, Zuma, follow me! I'm going after her!" Marshall shouted.

Ryder didn't protest. When they looked at him and Marshall passed. He waved them off.

"You heard him! Get her!"

They took off with Marshall around back and fought their way through. They used whatever cover they could, which was very slim. They had to run from car to car.

"Dude, we can't get her with all this fire going around!" Zuma shouted.

"Marshall, we need another plan!" Chase agreed, "This car is getting shredded!"

Marshall nodded, "We'll throw some flashes and rush over. After that, thin them out and on three, were going to rush her to the building, no stopping!"

"Are you sure that's going to work?" Chase asked.

"I'm a medic, I almost never get hit anyway!" Marshall winked.

"Almost is the key word there!" Zuma said to Chase.

He nodded in agreement. They three took out flashes and threw them. When they popped the firing slowed and gave them time to get over. Chase thinned them out a bit so they wouldn't have as much trouble. When they got there another truck came with more guys.

"Is this a gang or a militia? Good night!" Zuma groaned.

"I don't even know anymore!" Chase called, "Marshall! That last plan is screwed over, what else have you got?"

"Just run!"

"What?' Everest asked.

Marshall picked her up bridal style and shouted, "On three."

She widened her eyes and begged, "Marshall, don't do it."

"One!"

"This is insane!" Zuma shouted firing his weapon.

"Two!

"Get ready, Zuma, were using flashes, throw them all!" Chase said taking all of them out and pulling the pins off.

"Three!"

They threw the flashes all at once making a rapid, random assortment of pops. Marshall took off at a run and Zuma and Chase ran right behind him, taking out any gang members along the way. When they reached the safety of the back of the house Everest requested to be put down.

"Put me down, please; just put me down."

She took a few deep breaths from the situation. She never had prayed never to have to go through that again.

"Where's our backup?" Rocky asked.

Ryder shook his head and replied, "It should be here!"

They fired their weapons, again without Skye, since she needed to watch the soon-to-be-prisoners. Marshall, Chase, Everest, and Zuma covered the back so they didn't get flanked. A dreaded feeling hit Chase when her realized he was out of MP5 rounds.

"Crap! Where's the other teams?" He shouted switching to his Glock.

"Here they come! Right side!" Zuma pointed.

The three truck pulled in and Carlos laughed, "Are we late?"

"A little too late," Ryder replied, "Good to see you Carlos."

"Likewise, were sweeping through the street, cover us. Tracker! Get that side!"

The two teams combined strength and fought off the rest of the gang. There was a big mess to clean up now. Ryder greeted Carlos once the job was done.

"Carlos," He smiled.

"Ryder, long time," Carlos shook hand with him, "Nice to see you in one piece."

"You too, for a moment there I thought that sweep was going to be a bad idea," Ryder smiled.

"Yes well it wasn't the worst idea I had," Carlos chuckled.

Marshall and Rubble were helping Everest to a nearby ambulance to mend her wound better. Carlos looked at Ryder for an explanation.

"New member. She's pretty good but had a stroke of bad luck is all."

Carlos nodded, "Who is she?"

"Her name is Everest. Everest winters. She used to be an army sergeant. Got pulled in selection and made it through."

"Okay," Carlos nodded, "Well, I'd love to meet her, but I don't have the time."

Ryder nodded and looked around, "I see what you mean. How many do you think…"

"I don't like to think about I," Carlos interrupted, "It's bad for moral. That's how P.T.S.D develops. Just leave it alone, Ryder. You don't need to know."

Ryder nodded, "Well then, I'll see you later. Don't forget to fill out the file before leaving."

"You got it," Carlos nodded.

Ryder waved goodbye and turned his attention to his teammates. He approached watching the medic attend Everest's wound.

"How's she doing?"

The medic looked up and replied, "Fine, whoever patched her up cut my work by a lot. All I have to do is clean up and patch her again and she's good. Don't stand on it too much, you might hurt otherwise."

"Yeah, I figured that part out," She sighed.

"Well, I'm going to fill out that file they want and get us out of here," Ryder notified his team.

"Sure thing boss, we'll be here," Radar smiled.

A few minutes later and they were free to go. After going straight to the HQ to gear down they headed to Mr. Porter's for something to eat and to unwind. They tried to act as if the scenario they had didn't take place. The conversation of pasts was common among the Alpha Team. They asked a lot about Everest's which she obliged limitedly. Story by story, laugh by laugh, and hour to hour, the team thinned returning home in some way. Finally it was just Everest and Marshall. She shared her story on how she got to the P.A.W.S's list, excluding the C.I.A's involvement, and gave them a last laugh for the night.

"You know, you're a pretty great addition to the team. I think I've said a thousand times but I mean it. You really are," He laughed.

Everest sighed satisfied with her laughing of the day and replied, "And I don't know if I ever thanked you. So, thanks… a lot. I hope I can stay that way."

Marshall shrugged, "Who knows, you seem to be tough. That's what we need. Tough people.

She nodded and licked her lips, staring at her drink. Her proper drink. One she technically waited for for five years. Marshall messed with his too. There was an awkward silence between them. It was quite, just the two of them, in the dinner. Everest looked up at Marshall once in a while, but she would look back down in nervousness. He stared at his bottle for quite some time.

"You know, I knew a medic once," She started off.

She didn't know why she said that; she didn't even think it was time to tell him, but it just lolled out. He looked up at her, but said nothing.

"He was the most handsome guy I knew. Saved my life. I was wounded, here on my chest and shoulder. Still got the scar. My lower calf was also packed with shrapnel."

Marshall nodded and took a drink. Everest scolded herself for beginning this early. She was sweating and her throat was dry. She needed to take a drink to keep going.

"When I thought my life was gone from my grip and all was lost, no one could help me, my friends couldn't help me. It was just me and death now. Three bullets came from his sidearm and he gave me a second chance. He escorted me all the way to the aid station for operation. I owed him my life. He offered to get me a drink."

Marshall laughed and asked, "What kind of idiot offers a girl on meds a drink? That might not turn out good."

"Yeah, that's what his thought was too. So he didn't get me a proper drink, got me lunch instead. Said it was a bad idea because of meds. That's when something started between us. The more we talked the more we connected. It was like we were meant to be together," Everest was lost in her trance remembering the days when that medic was there for her.

"Broke the rules eh? Well I guess…

"Some rules are meant to be broken?" She finished, "That's what he told me. We did a lot on the station together, lunch, work… sleep."

Marshall scoffed at the last one. He again drank from his bottle.

"He watched my back every step of the way," She said before taking a drink.

"Well, hey, rule one…"

"Watch your buddy's back?" Everest finished again, "Yeah he said that one too."

Marshall was beginning to engage in the story more. Something was biting at him and he needed to figure it out.

"I was with him for a long time. I think I said I loved him at one point but I don't remember. Well, one day, there was an attack on the station and… I lost him."

Marshall watched her with a serious look. He watched her as she began to cry.

"I got wounded again and there was no coming back this time. Well, I thought that at the time. I cried for him so many times. I tried to find him but I couldn't. I lost a lot of blood and I told by self, 'You're going to die'. Then he came again. He pulled me out of a tent that I flew back in and patched me up enough to get me to a bus and to get out. But someone called medic and he had to answer the call… I still remember the promise he made me: he would come back… he would come back and he would make sure I was going to be okay. I begged him to not leave me. I watched him die when he tried to come back."

She was sobbing now and trying to keep it together. Marshall stood up and found a tissue box for her.

"Thanks… Now, this is going to sound crazy Marshall but I need you to listen. I need you to believe me. There were three things you need to know about him that I never forgot: he was a sergeant, he was a ranger… but most of all I lost him to a mortar shell."

Marshall's eyes met hers. He didn't know what to say.

"Marshall, those five weeks you can't remember were times of me. Times of us. I thought all this time you were dead. I understand if you don't want that anymore. I understand if… if you don't want to risk your job… But for my sake, for our sake… please… just believe me… I love you…"

Marshall took a deep breath and covered his face. His hands dragged down, the silence was unbearable to Everest.

Finally he spoke, "I don't know why, Everest, but…I think I believe you. For years I've been trying to understand why I felt like I forgot something. For those five long years I had wondered why it was so important to me. But… now that you tell me this I feel… relived."

Everest smiled and continued to cry. Marshall stood up and approached her to kneel in front of her.

"Everest… Adeline… Winters, I love you too."

Everest smiled and cried into his arms. When they pulled away, they once again looked upon each other like they once did five years ago in Afghanistan. And after those five years they finally shared a kiss. Marshall smiled in the back of his head. He finally got a girlfriend.


	5. Chapter 5: The Interloper

Marshall came back to his apartment after a few miles of jogging. He usually woke up five in the morning for these exercises. When he would come back he would take a shower then have breakfast. The apartment only consisted of two rooms and he had no bed. He had to sleep on the couch. Of course, the bathroom could be considered a room despite it being about the size of a portable bathroom. The sink, toilet, and shower were squished tight almost exactly next to each other. But, on the bright side, the room was cheap and he could afford other things. He only had one closet for his cloths and it was about the same size as the bathroom. As for the two rooms, being the kitchen and living room, or bedroom, which were, together, thirty feet horizontally fifteen feet vertically. They were separated by half a wall with an opening located above the kitchen ink so you could look at the people in the other room, if that was ever going to happen. The kitchen, however, contained a sink, small pantry, fridge, oven and stove, and microwave but everything, again, was squished together or on top of each other.

"Home sweet home," He whispered to himself.

And to him, it was. Even if it was crap. He proceeded to dig into his closet to get the next change of clothes after his shower. He grabbed a random assortment and continued to his bathroom. The water was never warms, but he got used to that. During the end of it he heard someone come into his apartment. He remembered locking his apartment so he stopped the water and grabbed the gun he hid in a sink drawer. After wrapping a towel around his waist he opened the door and pointed the gun. He sighed and rolled his eyes seeing Everest on the other side.

"Sorry, you gave me the key and said to drop by anytime," She giggled.

"Knocking would have been nice before opening," He shook his head.

She examined his body and lifted her eyebrows, "You know, despite the aid station I never actually saw you like this. Those scars a part of the job?"

"Yeah, I picked them up over the days," He replied turning around.

He eyes widened seeing far larger, longer scars than the front. From her observations and seeing enough scars, some being her own, she could tell they weren't from the battlefield.

"And those?"

He looked back and didn't say anything. The door closed so he could dry up and change. She felt a bit concerned. Of all the years and those five weeks she knew him, she had never seen those scars. She didn't even know how to describe them. They were large, practically taking up his entire back. They were also a bit red which wasn't normal from a battle wound. They couldn't have been from service. They had to have been deliberate.

When he came out he gave her a smile and asked, "So, what brings you all the way over here?"

"We practically live as neighbors, and don't change the subject," She replied seriously, "Marshall, those aren't injuries you'd get from battle. Where did you get those?"

"You didn't see them on the aid station?" Marshall asked going to the kitchen.

"Like I said, even when… We didn't get to that point. But we did share a cot for a few nights. I never got the chance. What happened to you?"

"It's… not something…"

"Don't give me that… what happened? I've only seen scars like that on an orphan."

Marshall took a deep breath and replied, "My dad happened. It wasn't his fault; he didn't used to be like that. He never smoke, drank, drugs, nothing. He was clean."

"What happened to him?"

"He got angry at the Koreans and joined the marine, climbed the latter, and saw things he didn't deserve to see. He came back with P.T.S.D and wouldn't get help except form that…. That dealer…"

Everest sat down next to him as soon as he took a seat. She put a hand on his and urged him to go on.

"He started going downhill after that. When he started, my mom left with my sister. I still can't thank God enough for getting them out of there on time before Chief and I got the worst of it. Then it was just me. Chief ran away as soon as he could and joined the Marines so he could get away. Left me alone. We still had some sort of contact but not much. He promised he'd come back and get me out of there, but it wasn't long till a SWAT team came and got him and the dealer. They got me out and I spent my seventieth year of life in an orphanage before going on into the army."

Everest stood up and hugged him kissing his forehead, "I'm sorry."

Marshall leaned his head into her and replied, "You don't' have to be. It formed me, you know? Maybe understand the worst of the world. How bad it can be even if it's good. Understand, he was the best father anyone could have. He taught me how to swing a back, took me camping, told me stories, tucked me in; everything. He even taught me I could be anyone I wanted. That all changed when he saw that one thing, fought that one day…, and it screwed him over."

Everest and Marshall were both quite for a few minutes. It wasn't till Everest smiled and stood up with a sigh.

"So, what were you planning for breakfast?"

Marshall chuckled quietly, "Now, look who's changing the subject."

"Oh, come on, you were trying to dodge something; I simply tried to bring back your smile."

"My smile?" He asked, "Well, you certainly didn't have to try. I was about to make some toast…"

"No way, we've gotta get to work in about… and hour. You might not eat in several of those and toast is not going to cover them. I'm cooking for you."

Marshall sighed as she left to the kitchen. She grabbed a pan and started a burner.

"So how well can you cook? Your mom teach you? Your dad?"

Everest shrugged and replied, "I taught myself. Don't worry, I get compliments all the time. Besdies, by food is pretty good this time of year."

"You mean it's seasonal? No pun intended."

Everest giggled and replied, "Yeah, I like to cook according to the time of year. For instance, it's fall. So, if I wanted to make dessert I might make pumpkin pie. Speaking of which, have any pumpkin spice?"

Marshall shook his head, "No."

She rolled her eyes and asked another question, "Vanilla?"

"Yeah, check the spice thing there," He pointed.

She reached over to the miniature Lazy Suzan and twisted it till she found a small bottle of vanilla extract. She smiled and put it on the counter.

"Well, pancakes it is," She said to herself, "Marshall, while I'm cooking you might want to get ready. We only have so much time."

Marshall smirked and asked, "Is that something to distract me while you mess up my kitchen?"

"No, this is a secret recipe, I can't let you see it," She grinned and helped him out of his chair, "Now go on, shoo, get your stuff."

She pushed him to a closet she guessed was where he kept his things. She added a kick to make sure he kept going.

"Alright alright, no need to shove," He laughed.

"If you haven't changed since five years then there's plenty of need to," She crossed her arms and smirked.

"What does that mean?" He curved and eyebrow.

Everest shrugged, "Let's just say you liked to take your time until your water was spiked."

"I thought you said you didn't…"

"I was blindfolded," She quickly said, "Don't ask."

Marshall's eyes widened and his face turned red. He didn't even want to know now.

"No we didn't go that far, but I have to say you're a very experienced…"

"Stop, just… stop," He pleaded and took his outfit into the bathroom.

She smiled and shook her head. She mixed her ingredients together and set the aftermath in the counter to wait a few minutes. The ingredients had to concoct for at least ten. Then she could cook. For that she turned the burner off and waited. The pan was prepared so she could turn the burner on and start up when she had to. She put her ingredients away and waited for the batter to be ready, at the same time waiting for Marshall. He got out as soon as she took a seat. During her wait she spotted a peculiar handgun. She was actually messing with it when Marshall had come out.

"Carful with that," He warned, "That's a real one, not a replica, and I worked my bt off getting that thing."

"Isn't this a World War Two German Luger?" She asked.

"Yup," He nodded, "One that was actually used in the war. It's still functional. I've preserved it the best I could. The bullets are a bit hard to find, but I've got a few boxes. I've only used it in home defense."

"Wow," She admired it, "It's a fine handgun."

"Yeah well, I like to collect this stuff. My collection is over at Skye's. She, Rubble, and Rocky are the only ones who have a house to live in, but I trust her most with these kinds of things. Like I said, she's a sister. Chase keeps his there too."

"Does she mind?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I think her hobby is to mess with them. I caught her one day pointing my M1 Carbine around and checking it out like she would… uh, any guy she liked."

Everest laughed, "She likes small arms?"

"Yeah, she's that kind of gal," Marshall chuckled, "But sometimes she'll mess with Chase's BAR. Now those things are heavy. I don't even know how he got one."

"You two really like World War Two artifacts, huh?" She folded her arms and legs and leaned back.

"You could say that," Marshall shrugged, "But you could also say we do this in respect."

Everest nodded in understanding and the timer went off, "Oh, time to make the pancakes. Hope you ready."

"Born," Marshall replied.

She looked back at him in a glance and went on making her secret pancakes. She couldn't wait to see his face.

X

Rocky waited at his table for Rubble, Zuma and Radar to show up. A took a few minutes then they promised but they eventually came.

"What took you three so long?" He chuckled.

"Radar's van is a suicide ride, dude," Zuma said looking aback at the old van.

"Relax, it always makes those sounds," Radar laughed, "I'm getting them checked up after today."

"So, I heard you had good news, Zuma. Anything you want to share?"

Zuma instantly forgot about the van and replied, "Oh, dude, you won't believe it. Rosie is coming to visit me. Her mother convinced her to do it. She's going to be in the hospital for a few days so she got talked into coming back to Adventure Bay City to spend some time with me."

"Hey, about time," Rubble laughed, "You might actually wake up earlier and get over to the HQ faster."

"It was just once!" Zuma growled, "And, again: I took a wrong turn. I thought we were going to the EMT building that day. How many times do I have to explain this?"

"Forever," Radar replied with a creep in his voice.

"Darn you, dude, darn you," Zuma glared.

"You guys ready to order?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, let's go," Rubble replied.

They four ordered and sat back down. A new conversation was engaged.

"So, Shelby doing okay?" Radar asked.

"She's doing fine," Rubble replied, "Key word is fine. She wants me to spend time with my son but I can't find any. I go; I work; I come home exhausted and repeat. If anything, I can just help him with his homework and by then I'm braindead."

"Being a response unit demands that of us," Rocky commented, "I'm real sorry that's happing, man."

"There's nothing anyone can do about it except for the big boss. Is sucks being the best," Rubble sighed.

"Tell it to someone who wants to be," Zuma chuckled, "Man, I wonder if that's gonna happen to me and Rosie. Hell, I'd hate for her to come here and have almost no time to spend with me. Some visit that would be."

"Who knows? But hey, there might be hope for us yet. We might get a vacation," Radar smirked.

"Really?" Rubble asked, "When?"

"Don't know. I just heard the boss and the big boss talk about it," Radar replied.

"Yeah, I think I heard about that too," Rocky pointed, "Might be good for me and Rosita."

"Wait, I thought Zuma was with Rosita," Radar looked at Zuma.

"No, Radar, his girl is Rosita, mine is Ro-SIE," Zuma shook his head.

"Why do they sound so close? It's like you guys have the same taste in women," Radar leaned back in his chair.

"Not precisely," Rocky shook his head, "His girls is… Spanish?"

"Hispanic," Zuma replied.

"Gah, did it again. It's hard to tell the difference," rocky scratched his head.

"You get used to them after a while," Zuma smirked.

The four heard their order numbers called and they stood up to get their food. While they were talking Radar was spaced out. He smiled thinking how lucky they were. He didn't hear from Brie for three months and she hadn't been responding. He couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong.

X

Skye and Chase arrived at the HQ at the same time as Ryder. He usually liked to arrive at the HQ early and Skye and Chase had just decided to do the same.

"Ryder, arrived already?" Chase asked.

"Always do if I can help it," Ryder smiled back, "Skye, you look drowsy."

"When you ask a Roberts to be your trainer you should learn to say goodbye to your six o'clock alarm clock. Four is overkills, Chase."

"O, come on, I thought you were a marine?" He smirked.

"I trained with them, but I didn't have to wake up that early. I was a chopper pilot, Chase."

"Well, say hello to the army life," He grinned.

"Army life sucks," She sighed but looked at Chase with a return grin, "I wish it sucked more."

Ryder raised his eyebrows and looked at Chase, "You aren't going to take that from her are you, Chase?"

"In her dreams," Chase replied, "She wants the suck she gets it."

"You hear that, Skye," Ryder smiled, "You're about to embrace the suck."

"Bring it on, big guy," She challenged, "My body is ready."

"How about your mind?" Chase asked.

"It was born ready," Shot back.

Ryder whistled and laughed, "I think you've met your match, Chase."

Chase squinted at her and added, "We'll see."

Shortly after they had readied themselves the others made their way to the HQ and went over today's new schedule. Most days were like this but rare moments allow free time for them. This was not the case, today. Today, was potential terrorist take down. There were numerous other operations they would have to do but they did one thing at a time. Today was drill day.

"Alright, team A is set," Chase called.

"Team B, set," Marshall said back.

Ryder had to hang back on this operation due to new protocol. Leaders would only be engaged in operation if they had to. If they didn't, then they were to supervise the mission and ensure success. Ryder didn't like this knew protocol, but he went with it.

"Alright teams stay alert. Intel gathers that we'll have four subjects in one room, twenty meters by fifteen. It has three big windows on the east side with two sofas, a love seat and a resting chair all around a coffee table. There is a kitchen located behind the first sofa and a hallway with the bathroom and bedroom behind that. The only entrance is next to that hallway," Ryder explained, "The most we know is that their messing with explosive chemicals to create a bomb. Do not use shotguns. It could set those off. Best we could do is stick with the MP5s and USPs. Rubble, Rocky, you two will hold shields for Chase's team. Marshall, Everest, Skye, you three are the repel team. Let's get ready for any and every situation."

"Boss, why is it that I'm engaged and you're in my van for this?"Radar asked.

"Good question, Radar. That's one I'll answer if you don't get hit this round. Chase, take over."

"Alright, guys, on my go, we'll breach the door and the repel team with enter in, nonlethal only. If you can get close enough use TASERs. If not we'll do whatever we can."

"We could always use flash shields," Rocky shrugged.

"And flash Marshall, Skye, and Everest? Not this round. We'll try another round."

"You know you both confirmed your teams were ready and there's no action!" Shouted a guy inside the room.

"Shh, quiet! You don't know were coming!" Chase called after knocking on the door.

"Come in!" Yelled another.

"Shut up this is serious!" He growled.

"You're not taking it very seriously, it seems," laughed the third.

"Okay, that's enough, give us time, team disengage for a few."

Ryder hid his laughter and brushed his face. For a first go, that was terrible. Of course, he wouldn't admit that the four volunteers weren't helping them.

X X X

In some apartments a few miles north of the P.A.W.S H.Q, the targets were in action. But there weren't just four targets, there were five. At least, it would seem.

"Is this the stuff we asked for?" Asked Toney.

Toney was the leader of the group. He was well known to have explosive anger.

"Yeah, man, I got your stuff; don't sweat it," Smiled the high dealer.

Toney looked at what the dealer brought and smirked. He nodded at one of his partners, Carson, who nodded back and gave the dealer his pay.

"There, now keep bringing it in and you'll get your money," Toney glared at him.

"Gee, thanks Toney, you're the best man, you really are…"

"Get out."

"Sure thing Toney, sure thing," The dealer ducked and scurried away.

As soon as he was out of view, Toney and Carson returned to their room with two more guys—Darius and Phil—were messing with a few chemicals and storing them in a terrible arts and crafts project. Toney put the box of more chemicals on the table and gave them a look. They nodded in return.

"Yo, Toney how many of these are we gonna make, man?" Asked Darius.

"As many ask it takes," Toney replied, "Keep mixin, and don't stop. Carson, the sale's gonna be soon, get the cocaine and get down there."

"Sure, fine, don't have to yell at me," Carson raised his hands defensively.

"What did you say to me?" Toney asked him in anger.

"I mean, you got it, boss, I'll get it done," Carson said rubbing his scarred hand.

"Yeah, that's what I thought you said," Toney glared.

His phone rang and he picked it up, "Who's this?"

After the caller said his name he put on his first smile of the day and said, "Little man, how ya doing'? I haven't heard from you lately, what's up with that?"

X

"Whew, well, my shifts over," Smiled Cody, a teenager of about seventeen.

"Ugh, right when everything is restocked?" Whined his coworker, "I've still got two hours of this."

"Oh, the poor baby needs her rest," he teased her.

"Oh hush, you're just rubbing in that you don't have to work as hard," She hit his chest.

He chuckled and smiled, "I'm sorry, listen, I would stay and help but I have to run. My younger sister is having a birthday and I wasn't to show up give her a present and just say a few things."

"Aw, you're such a good older brother. I wish I was a younger sister, then I could get babied like that."

Cody's smile shortened and agreed sheepishly, "Yeah, sure."

"You okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine," He replied, "I'm just tired. I'd better get going. See ya."

"Sure… hey," She stopped him before he could exit behind the counter.

"Hmm? What's up?"

"Are you… doing anything after…, I don't know, five o'clock?" She asked awkwardly.

"Uh, not really," He replied with a shrug and a smile, "Why?"

"I don't know, I was just thinking that maybe… we could, hang out or do something? I don't know, if you don't want to you don't have to…"

"Sure," He grinned, "I'd love to."

"Really? Great! Uh, do you just want to meet me here?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'll come back," He replied, "See you then."

"Yeah, sure, bye," She smiled back.

He left and took a walk to the toy store, before heading to his family's home. There at the front was a large group of kids playing a few games with three adults watching them and one with the birthday girl. He stared at her for a few seconds and took a deep breath before approaching. When the woman with the girl saw him she asked one of the other's to watch her. She approached angrily and glared at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"Mom, please…"

"Don't' call me that," She scolded, "No son of mine would go and take his sister's money and use it to buy drugs just because he's having a bad day."

"Mom, that was two years ago, I'm clean. I've been clean for all that time. I just wanted to see her," Cody begged.

"And let you influence my girl with that crap? I don't think so. That money was her savings, was her future."

"I'm sorry…"

"'I'm sorry? I'm sorry?' Is that what you say after all you've done, just sorry? I don't think so."

"What do you want…!" He quieted down and restarted, "What do you want me to say? What am I supposed to do?"

"Stay away from her for the rest of her life and take this present with you," She picked up the box and tossed it at him.

He looked at her solemnly and tried not to cry I front of her. He turned to leave but stopped and said one more thing.

"What if I payed it all back?"

She turned, lifted an eyebrow, and leaned to the side, "Pay it all back? You think you can pay seven hundred and forty dollars that she saved all back? She worked forever for that money. What are you going to do?"

"I don't know, but I'll do it. I promise, okay? So, what if I did?"

"Then we can talk about you seeing her and I can change my mind about you. But right now; I don't care who you are, you're not her brother… and you're not my son."

She turned around and walked to her daughter. Cody watched as her sister tried to wave at him excitedly but her mother peeled her away. Cody, despite being told to take it away, set the box down next to the mailbox and left the note on top. After, he tried his best, calling some friends to see if he could get a donation or loan, and his boss, to see if he could get a raise or extra money for extra time. Nothing seemed to work. Nothing was going to help him. All he had was the money he got form the shop he worked at and it didn't pay well. He looked at this last quarter and gripped it with tears. He couldn't think of anything. Suddenly, a single plan hatched in his mind. A plan that could be his only out. He bit his lips and stared at the head of the quarter. He stared at the phrase "In God we trust" and gripped it again. His breath was shaky and he made up his mind. Only God was going to help him now… if He was watching. He swallowed as he saw the quarter enter and pressed the numbers in the order he wanted. It rang and he prayed for success.

"Who is this?" Asked a shady voice.

"Hey, uh, Toney, It's me," Cody smiled as if Toney was staring at him.

"Little man, how ya doin'? I haven't heard from you lately, what's up with that?" He asked.

Good he was in a good mood. Cody relaxed a bit and continued.

"I'm sorry, Toney, its just… I'm sorry I didn't mean to call you like this," He tried to chock back a sob but it came out."

"Hey, little man, you don't sound to good, is everything all right?" Toney asked and made a guess, "Is it Sally?"

Cody almost panicked but her remained calm and replied, "I took everything from her, man. I… I want to pay her back but I don't have anything. I was… I wanted to know if I could get… I don't know, six, seven, eight hundred to pay her and I'll do whatever it takes to pay it back."

Toney paused for a long while. Cody wanted to back out, apologize and tell him to forget it.

Unfortunately, before he could Toney replied, "You know what little man, I just might take you up on that offer."

"Really?" Cody widened his eyes, "Great, what do I have to do? I'll do it, I'm ready."

"Not so fast, little man, don't thank me all at once, you still haven't got it yet. I'll gather the cash, but you come here. I've got a job for you that will make this whole thing easy for you. All it is is one thing and your good. You won't even have to hear from me again if you like."

Cody smiled and tears of joy streamed down his face, "Thank you, Toney, thank you. I'll… I'll be there as fast as I can."

"Alright, little man, alright. I'll see you soon then. Be careful, okay? Don't hurt yourself out there. I wouldn't want this cash waiting for nobody. I'll keep your name on it and make sure no one touches it. Just get over here, and we'll talk about owing people things later."

"Alright, I'll see you then," Cody smiled.

"Looking forward to it," Toney grinned behind the phone.

He hung up and Cody put the payphone away. He started his way to Toney's but a feel of worry came sweeping across. He took a deep breath and forced his feet to keep him going. He couldn't help but feel like something was going to be terribly wrong.

X

Returning to the P.A.W.S, Alpha team was running their twentieth drill, each one being different and preparing for whole new situation in one situation. The team was starting to become more and more efficient each time and the takedowns were faster. All they had to do now was wait for a warrant. But meanwhile, they drilled more. Ryder could never be prouder of his team.

"Alright guys I just got word that the warrant is almost through, let's run this one more time," Ryder said looking at Radar's computer screens.

"Alright team, we've got this last drill and were good," Chase said on the coms.

"Roger that," Marshall called before mouthing at the girls, "One more time."

They nodded, Everest giving a quiet sigh of relief. The countdown sounded off and the three of them repelled down into the window while Chase's team bashed through the doors with two shields and shouting. The four volunteers shot at them but in van as Marshall tackled one of the, Zuma disarmed the other pointing at him, Rubble tased the third, and Everest flipped the fourth on his back and turned him over then cuffed him.

"Gees, I feel sorry for the guy who gets subdued by you," Groaned Everest's volunteer.

Everest laughed and apologized, "Sorry, I just got carried away and thought I'd go all Kung Fu."

"Yeah? Well you sure have a way of doing it," He chuckled.

The team disengaged and bot word that the warrant came through. Ryder called his team for a final brief. Meanwhile, he took time to thank the volunteers for their time and for taking a hit or two for the team.

"Hey, no problem," waved one.

"Yeah we love doing this. Usually, I'm a part of a combat medic simulation, though."

They shared a laugh and a few more pleasant words before they took off and the teams got themselves ready. They loaded the cars to go meet with a few friends at the target location. As they approached they turned off their sirens to not alert their targets. A man leaned up against his car seeing them park.

"Took you long enough," He said to Ryder.

"Sorry, the warrant didn't come through until a few minutes ago. What do we got, officer?"

The man sniffed and replied, "First, my name is Officer Cartwright. Second, we have four guys inside and an plant watching them."

"You have a spy? Who is he?" Asked Ryder.

"He's probably going to be the high guy you see giving them chemicals," Cartwright replied, "Whatever happens you make sure he's clear before you go popping smoke or do whatever you guys do."

"Got it, any word from him?"

He nodded, "He's making his final run and giving us the all clear. He'll be back in a second."

"Good, Chase, take it away," Ryder motioned.

"Alright, You guys know the drill, let's get moving and prepare to take these guys out," Chase called.

Ryder jumped into Radar's van just when Cartwright followed. He stared at him when he entered and took a seat. Ryder wanted to say something about it but he didn't know what. Instead he shook it off and tried to pretend he wasn't around.

Meanwhile, Chase was gathering his team, "Okay, Remember, Rocky, Rubble, Radar, your with me, Everest, Skye, Marshall, you guys are the repel team."

"We could really use another guy. Why can't Ryder help us again?" Skye asked.

"Because of new regulations," Chase sighed, "Which is rather frowned upon in this current situation, I do agree."

"Man, I hope somebody else gets high enough scores to get into this team. We need the help," Rocky shook his head.

"Don't worry, we'll manage, we've done it several times in the drills," Chase assured, "We've done this before."

"Yeah, Rocky. Besides, We've got shields. Ya big baby," Rubble teased.

"Shut up, Rubble. Everyone was saying it, and your thinking it!"

Rubble shrugged in admittance. The team, regardless of being a member short, went on.

X

Cody, unknowing what he was about to run into walked through the alley ways and into the apartment. Soon joining him was some guy with a box of chemicals.

"Hey kid," He laughed oddly, "What you up to?"

"I'm just… meeting a friend," Cody replied.

"Oh, well I don't think your friends here," Laughed what seemed to be a high junky, "You'd better just come back later. A lot of people just kinda left."

"Well, he said he'd be here to meet me so…," Cody continued to the climb the stairs not getting the hint on what the "high" box carrier was trying to do.

"No, listen, Cody you got…"

"Little man," Toney greeted with a smile.

It turned into a glare when he saw his load with the previous druggy, "Do you have everything this time, Jasper?"

"Oh yeah, man, I've never failed you," snickered Jasper, "Why you gotta be like that when I come up, man? Come on can't we just be tight for one second?"

"We'll be 'tight' when you get the order filled," Toney sneered but it turned into a smile for Cody, "Come on, little man. I've got your money waiting."

"Money? Gee, if you needed money alls you gotta do is ask, brother. I'll drop this stuff and get you what you need," Jasper smiled.

"Can it Jasper and get this stuff in here," Toney ordered.

Jasper looked at Cody and hid his dread but shrugged, "Sure, yeah, okay."

He walked in, Cody following.

"Can I get you anything? A drink, a joint…"

"No thanks, I just want to get my job done and get my money," Cody quickly detested.

His eyes widened when he saw all the tables equipment and boxes planted over the room. Jasper put his box on the closest one and retreated back to Cody.

"Hey, man, ain't this cool? There making bobs. Big ones that go poooghghgh and do a lot of stuff," He cracked out in laughter.

"Jasper!" Toney growled.

"Sorry man, sorry," Jasper defended himself from something that wasn't coming.

"As you can see were making a little welcoming gift," Toney said, "You want your money and I want these delivered.

"D-delivered?" Cody stuttered in fear.

"Yeah, the job is simple: park the car with all these things loaded up in em' next to the capitol building, make a run for it and hit the remote. That's all. All footage against you will be vaporized. They'll never know it's you; they'll never know it's me. We both win, and you get your cash."

"I don't know, Toney; I don't' wanna kill anyone," Cody started to shake.

"Hey, little man, don't worry about that, You might not get anyone if you play the cards right. Just make sure that car's history by five thirty."

"Aw, come on, Toney, Cody's not cut up for something like that. Just let me handle it," Jasper smiled, "I got him covered and I'll get that car gone before it even reaches four!"

Jasper began to snicker but Toney glared at him, "So, you now Cody?"

Jasper paused and nodded, "Yeah, man, we tight. Unlike you and me. Cody and I go wa-ay back."

Toney looked at Cody who nodded, "Yeah, we, uh, used to smoke together."

"See? So, I've got him covered, you don't even have to pay him or me. Token of friendship bro."

Toney sneered and looked at Cody. Unfortunately, he was starting to put two and two together.

"That's rather generous of you for a token of friendship, Jasper."

"Aw shucks," Jasper acted flattered.

"How are you going to cover him? You said you spend all your money on cocaine."

Jasper's smile faded a bit and replied, "Well, yeah, but I've got something that can cover him…"

"Eight hundred bucks?" Toney asked.

"That… is a lot, but I can think of…"

"Where are you gonna get that?"

The tension rose and Jasper was running out of things to say. Cody regretted even coming here now. If this went any more south than trouble was going to brew up. However they were saved by a phone call.

"What is it? What!?" Toney hung up and gave Cody a face of anger, "I knew it!"

He took out a revolver and pointed it at him. Jasper and Cody both panicked and got down. His three accomplices took out their guns and asked what was going on.

"The police are here… You sold me out… didn't you?" He glared at Cody.

"No, I swear, I didn't I would never do that to you, Toney," Cody cried.

"Toney, what do you mean the police are here," Asked Darius.

"Watch the door, Darius," Toney ordered.

Darius grabbed an AK from the closet and ran out the door. Jasper tried to talk Toney down.

"Toney, brother, don't do that, that's not gonna help anyone," Jasper pleaded, "You just going to make it worse, man!"

"I helped you, I was going to give you something more just for a small job and you do this to me?!"

Cody sobbed and flinched when Toney forced the gun forward. Jasper gulped contemplating what to do. Several minutes passed and they could hear gun fire. Toney looked at the door in frustration.

"Look Toney just kill him and get it over with, we gotta get this stuff outa here, fast!" Carson shouted.

"Shut up and get what we have left and put it in the van if they ain't there. I'll worry about this," Toney growled and pulled back the hammer.

Jasper licked his lips then went for the gun, struggling with Toney to get it out of his hand and protect Cody. Toney, however took a knife and cut Jasper's arm then forced him to the ground. He pointed his revolver and shot Jasper in the stomach.

"No! Why did you do that?" Cody asked.

"You saw what he did, I wasn't going to let that junky kill me."

"He wasn't going to kill, he was just trying to protect me! He's a cop!" Cody screamed.

"What?" Toney widened his eyes, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't remember, I thought I recognized him, but I do now: he's a cop, the one that arrested me when I was doing drugs."

Toney looked at Jasper a bit startled and contemplated what to do, "Uh, you saw everything right? It was a struggle, he went for the gun it went off and he got hit. Right?"

"Right," Cody nodded.

"Right?" Toney asked Phil.

"Yeah," He nodded, quickly making the last bomb and taking up his pistol.

"Okay, so, you do what you're doing, Cody, uh, I'll get rid of the rest, you help Darius load the bomb up. Let's do this, guys!"

The three of them left in the room did what they were plotted. It was perhaps their final stand.

X

As soon as Chase and Marshall's teams climbed at about the same floor as Toney's apartment Darius opened fire on them. They took cover, but Rocky and Rubble huddled together. Both of them charged forward and beat him to the floor. He was then secured.

"Ah, get off me, man!" He groaned.

"Subject one secure," Chase called.

"Good bring him down," Ryder said, "You'll have to do this a member down again. Zuma, get hid down here, Rubble, give him your shield; we could still salvage this plan."

"How did they know we were coming?" Everest asked.

"Beats me," Skye shook her head.

"Wait there's another one!" Rocky shouted, pointing at Carson.

"P.A.W.S! Freeze!" Shouted Skye.

He took off and Skye and Rocky pursued. He had a box so it wasn't hard to chase him down. Rocky tackled him and the box spilled its smaller kind. Skye picked one up and confirmed the bomb threat.

"Yup, homemade bombs, fresh from the oven," She sighed.

"Fresh from or for?" Rubble asked.

Skye handed her cuffs to Rocky and replied, "Who knows. Toney was planning a terrorist attack but what's the target?"

"Brig those two to the sixteenth floor there's construction going on and it'll make a good outpost," Ryder Advised, "It's only two floors up so you should be able to get eyes in the room."

"Got it," Chase nodded.

They retreated to the floor and evacuated the workers then sat their two subjects down to talk. The rest of the team was planting equipment on the tables.

"So, you guys are with Toney, right?" Chase asked.

They nodded. Chase shook his head and chuckled.

"Good, you know what this is right?" He held up a bomb.

"So what?" Asked Darius.

"So, I need to know what it's for. I know how your getting it so don't fill me in there. Why are you making these?"

The two looked at each other and didn't speak. Chase the crate they were on and raised his voice.

"What's the target!?"

They jumped and one said," The capitol building!"

The other sighed and defended, "But we weren't going to blow the building we were just told to blow the parking lot. Nobody was really going to get hurt unless they weren't luck."

"Weren't lucky?" Chase asked, "There's no such thing as luck in bombs! Your either caught in it or not. This stuff alone is enough to blow thirty meters. What happens if you have a large quantity in one place?"

No answer. Chase rolled his eyes.

"It gets bigger and bigger, and soon it will be a nuke that take out more than just the parking lot. Was this Toney's idea?"

"Naw man, this was some dude Toney made friends with," Carson replied.

"What's his name?" Chase asked.

"Don't know he never said," Darius replied, "He calls himself Judgerman forty-two."

"Radar, get on it," Chase ordered.

"Do my best," Radar replied typing away at the computer.

The answer came quickly, "The file doesn't exist."

Chase looked at them for an explanation. Carson sighed and rolled his eyes.

"'Judger' has a capital, 'Man' has a capital, and there's a hyphen between them and an under hyphen thing between 'Man' and 'forty two'."

Radar looked at it and said, "This file no longer exists. They were telling the truth but it ran away from them. I'll look at Toney's file."

A few seconds later and Radar had an answer. It appeared they did tell the truth.

"Yup, there he is. They have quite the conversation here. Take a look," Radar showed Chase what he had.

He read it over and scoffed, "It looks like they were real buddies."

Radar chuckled and Chase pat his back, "Okay, I want eyes in there. Make sure to link the feed to Ryder."

"You got it, _Le Capitan_ ," Radar nodded and took a camera rope and ran to a window.

He opened the window and slowly let the rotatable camera down till he found the target position. He smiled seeing that there were four other guys in the room.

"Okay, four subjects, just as we… Wait a minute… If two of them are here then… who are they?" Radar asked and called Chase over, " _Le Capitan_ , did we say there were four guys inside the room?"

"That's correct," Chase said coming over.

"Then if we have two of them, Who are they?" Radar pointed.

"S.O.B, Ryder are you getting this?" Chase asked.

X X X

"Yup clear and well," Ryder replied.

"Holy crap, that's my guy!" Cartwright exclaimed, "You guys gotta get in there."

"That's your guy?"Ryder asked, "Son of a… Chase, that's an officer, that's Cartwright's infiltrator."

"What about the kid?" Chase asked.

Before they could decide that they saw Jasper make a grab for the gun but fail and get shot. The cry went through with both Ryder and Chase.

"Officer down! Officer down!"

Ryder opened his door and ran out into the building. He grabbed a phone saying one more thing to Chase.

"Listen, Chase, I'm going to call him and see if there's anything I can do to release some tension or get him to stand down, I don't want him going after the kid."

"Copy that."

X

"Darius and Carson just got bagged," Phil exclaimed.

Toney cursed to himself and pointed to a wall, "Get that key and get to the car. I'll cover you. Get the car over to the capitol and blow it."

"What about you?" Phil asked.

"I'm taking their attention off you, you idiot, now move!" He shoved.

"What if I get caught?" Phil asked.

Toney looked at the powder and put on some gloves then got a bag and lighter. He took some powder and put it inside the plastic bag and gave it to him.

"They come close; you blow it."

"What? Are you crazy? I ain't getting myself killed," Phil forced it back.

"Those guys are cops, they ain't gona want to let you do it and they'll say anything to stop you."

Phil hesitated and nodded, "Fine, this had better work."

"It will now get your ass moving," He pointed.

Cody continued to try and stop the bleeding from Jasper's stomach, but the wound was so big there wasn't much he could do without training and equipment. His only hope was the P.A.W.S, who were currently trying to get them out.

"Hold on, man, the cops are here, there gonna help us," Cody smiled.

"Yeah, I know, I'm one of them or was," Jasper groaned.

Cody smacked his face and said, "Stay awake, look at me. Don't go yet, you're going to be fine."

Jasper was crying for some reason. Cody didn't know why, but seeing him cry made him do the same.

"I'm so sorry for all this. I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to see my sister. I just wanted to tell her I was sorry. I wanted to tell her for so long."

"Hey, it's not your fault, Cody…"

"It is my fault. If I didn't take that one sample of cocaine, if I just left it alone and tried my best to go on, none of this would have happened."

"Cody, hey," Jasper grabbed his arm with his bloody hand and smiled, "If it weren't for you, we would never have found Toney."

"But I didn't' do anything, I didn't' tell anyone anything," Cody sobbed.

"You didn't have to," Jasper groaned.

"Hey, little man, give me a hand with this!" Toney shouted.

Cody got up and watched Toney try and dispose of a large bag of cocaine and some of the powder. Cody shook his head.

"Are you kidding? That is not going to fit in the toilet!"

"I'll make it fit!" Toney growled at him, "Now hold this and wait for me to tell you to dump it in."

Toney took a plunger and got the toilet free from all the blockage powder. He allowed Cody to dump in the next round and flush the toilet. Then the phone went off.

"Keep doing this, I'll get it," Toney commanded.

Toney compsoed his voice and asked, "Hello? Who is this?"

"Toney, My name is Captain Ryder Mason, I was told that there was a gun shot in you apartment, is everything alright, are you okay? Do you know anything."

"No, but I heard the shot," Toney replied a little too sweetly, "But thank you for checking up on me, that's really nice of you."

"Okay, let's get rid of the pleasantries and cut to it. We know you fired the gun and we know you shot Jasper, or I should say, Officer Volkmann. We want to know if he's alright."

"Oh, he's fine, just fine," Toney replied, "Don't worry about him."

"Come on, Toney, that was a loud gun. At the range you shot it it could feel like a shotgun or worse."

X

Rocky watched the camera outside of Toney's apartment and exclaimed, "There goes another one!"

"Rocky, Marshall, get him!" Chase ordered.

They left the apartment floor to get Phil and stop him from getting away. One they ran out, Ryder ran in. He was still on his call with Toney.

"Come on, Toney that was a loud gun. At the range you shot it it could feel like a shotgun or worse."

He pulled from the phone to mouth, "What does he have?"

Chase whispered lowly for Ryder to hear but for Toney not to pick up, "Marshall identified it as soon as he saw it. It's nub nose .357 magnum. He said it's the kind of caliber you can kill a bear within a few shots. Kinda went on how you should choose a…"

"That's all I needed," Ryder stopped him, "Listen, Toney, I know that stresses you out, that sort of thing stresses everyone out, but you need to calm down and not hurt anyone else."

"It doesn't sound like it's going good," Rubble sighed.

"We need to get in there. We should breach the door," Skye advised.

"No, kids in the line of fire," Chase sighed.

"What if we blew a wall?" Zuma asked.

"No, we already said we wouldn't do any collateral damage," Chase countered.

"Chase, you need to stop taking out our suggestions and start considering them, we may have no choice," Everest argued.

"We can't just go in there like its Rainbow Six, we're not videogame characters!" Chase hissed.

"What about we repel in? Marshall won't take too long," Everest motioned.

Chase rolled his eyes and asked, "And what; become his target practice? No, we have to wait for Ryder to make a window."

"We may not make it in time," Everest growled.

"Then we find one, now stop talking about this and let me handle it," Chase angrily glared.

He continued to stare at Jasper's body and Cody trying to help him again. Jasper was beginning to fade. His eyes were starting to close. Chase knew Everest's hasty nature was wrong, but a feeling told him she was right. He wanted to just go all out on this guy but protocol had forced him to not risk the kid. At last, when Cody found Jasper's phone, there was hope. Chase's patience had paid off. The call was forwarded to Radar who gave it to Chase.

"Hello?"

X

Rocky and Marshall ran as fast as they could to intercept Phil. They finally caught up to him and shouted for him.

"Police! Get on the ground!" Marshall shouted.

"Stay back!" Phil shouted, "Or I'll light it!"

Rocky and Marshall saw the powder and lighter in his hand and looked at each other. Rocky kept his shotgun on Phill but whispered to Marshall.

"That powder could be anything. For all we know it sulfur."

"I know," Marshall said in a low voice.

They followed him slowly as he kept his only defense ready to blow. They didn't want to kill him, but if they had to they would. To looks of him, he probably was just twenty. They reached the garage and Cartwright pointed his gun at him.

"Cartwright, stand down and call and E.M.T for your guy, silent approach, we've got this," Rocky said.

"I'm not letting this guy go, they're going to pay," Cartwright said angrily.

"Cartwright, the last agent who said that ended up firing his gun into his mouth. You're not like him are you?"

Cartwright thought a moment then put his gun away and took out his phone. Rocky and Marshall stared at Phil and looked at each other.

"He's getting close to the van that might be what the explosives are in," Rocky summed up.

"Cut him off, let's get him to talk. Radar, ask Phil's friends about his past will you? If that's not enough do a background check."

"You got it, Doc," Radar replied.

X

Radar approached Carson and Darius and sat down next to them, "Sorry to interrupt on you boys but we found an emergency situation on our hands. You pal, Phil, is in trouble of suicide bombing and we need to know why he's even doing this, why you guys are doing this."

"Look man, we're doing this because the world doesn't get it. They don't know what it's like to live in a hellhole that you had to crawl out of."

"Carson, man, give it up. That guy don't care about us. None of us had it worse than Phil. He's our friend, man."

"Man you heard what Toney said, these guys'll just turn around and put us in jail anyway," Carson argued.

"We can affect your magnitude," Radar shrugged, "If you two tell me I'll talk to the boss about setting up a deal and cutting your sentence in half. 'Cause right now you're looking at prison for life if not prison for twenty four years or such. You could instead look at prison for twelve perhaps? Maybe even less if you make the right appeal and do well in court."

The two paused and silently agreed to each other. Carson started but stopped. He wanted to make something clear.

"Listen, you didn't hear this from us, okay? We don't' want Phil thinking we're traitors or nothing."

"You don't have to worry about that," Radar nodded.

Carson took a deep breath and said, "Phil out of the three of us has the worst story you'll ever here but you've heard it before."

"The daddy-gone-drunk kind," Darius added, "Accept it was his mama."

"His old man left him because his old lady wasn't hot enough for him anymore and his mama did anything she could to get money. He had to feed himself, she didn't' buy him anything. He had to work for her too. Anything he could scrounge up was probably rotten and whatever."

Carson took his turn and continued the story, "So his old woman go the money and what goods it'll buy, he had to find some way to provide without it. If he didn't make any at all or less that what she wanted…"

Carson looked at Darius to finish, unable to do it himself, "She'd whip him till he was bleeding."

Unknowing to any of the three, Chase was listening in a bit but tried to keep his attention on the kid. He was clenching his fists and hiding what anger he had.

"He had to do that for three years, nonstop. He was lucky if he could rightfully take what cash was his. But he usually didn't get away with it. Another fifty licks on the back for him after that."

"Pft, more like one hundred," Carson sighed, "Whatever it was, when she died of an overdose he was able to grab the rest of it and bolt. He found us after that. We took care of him, gave him his first steak and even got him some work. Then we met Toney."

"I see," Radar nodded, "Did you get all that Doc?"

Marshall on the other side replied, "Yeah, all too well."

X

Marshall stared at Phil who was threatening to blow the powder if Rocky didn't move.

"Listen, Phil, I know this is really tense but you gotta listen. We just want to talk," Marshall said.

"Talk about what?" He asked, "We don't nothing to talk about!"

"We've got your life to talk about," Marshall said, "We don't want you to throw that away."

"Then let me go," Phil growled.

"We can't do that either," Rocky shook his head, "Other's might get hurt for what this is intended for."

"We have to do it, people don't get it!" He shouted.

"We do," Marshall said, "We get it Phil. Life sucks sometimes. But we've got to defeat what comes after us by not falling down to it. In order to win against your opponent you have to outlast them. You can be the best fighter n the world but if you use all your energy what are you left with? Your exposed. There's nothing you can do. But if you can hold out you might win."

"How are you supposed to outlive something that is an eternity?" Phil asked.

"You end it," Rocky replied, "You put a stop to it there and now. And that means putting that powder down and coming with us."

"Hell no. You're just going to throw me in a prison and let me get beat by other guys."

"No, that's not how it works," Marshal shook his head, "That's not going to happen."

"Then what is? You shoot me I'm gone I get away, I'm going to be just fine so let me go if you care so much."

"What about your friends? Are you going to leave them like your father did?"

"I'm not my father! I'll get them back! You watch me, I will!" He shouted.

"Whoa, steady with that lighter, Phil," Rocky said calmly.

Marshall put his gun down and said, "You know what, this can't be a normal conversation when I'm pointing this at you so, let me put this away."

Marshall put his Ruger .500 down in its holster and smiled. He looked at Rocky who lowered his shotgun a bit just to not be aiming at him but stand ready for if he had to take a shot. For safety of not setting the powder off and for not hitting Marshall, he had loaded slugs inside.

"Could you put the lighter down please?" Marshall asked.

Phil looked at the two of them and finally obliged. Marshall thanked him before going on.

"I know what you're talking about, you know that? I get what no one else gets about you. That kind of life was mine too," Marshall started.

Phil relaxed more, interested in what he had to say. Marshall, too, relaxed knowing he had Phil's mind off the situation now.

X

Chase listened to Cody as he explained the situation. Right now his and a cop's life depended on it.

"Okay, good job, Cody that's very brave of you to do that. Hey, you said you used to do drugs, right?"

"Yeah," Cody nodded.

"How long have you been off?" Chase smiled.

"Three years," Was the reply.

"Wow! That's really good," Chase complimented, "You keeping with the steps?"

"Yeah," Cody nodded.

"Great job, Cody, you're making a lot of wise decisions right now," Chase congratulated.

Cody began to cry and shook his head, "One bad one just got a cop shot and made this whole thing even more difficult than it needed to be. I'm so sorry for all of this."

"Cody, don't go there; don't do that, okay? Focus on this not that. When you see Toney come back put the phone down out of his sight so he doesn't know your talking with us."

"Yeah, okay," Cody nodded.

Indecently, Toney was coming back, still on the phone with Ryder. Cody put it down and continued to help Jasper. He was losing a lot of blood now. He wasn't even groaning anymore.

"Hey, are you still with me?" Cody asked.

"Tell my wife… that… I love her…"

"No, come on, don't give me that, please," Cody began to cry.

"And… tell my kids… that I'm so proud of them."

Chase and everyone in the room could hear him say what could be his last words. Everest stared at the camera watching the scene happen. She looked all around the room for something to help them. Her eyes squinted as she saw what looked like a door frame at the corner. She tried to rotate the camera but the bricks blocked it. She motioned for Chase to come look.

"Chase, is that another room?" She pointed at the frame.

As soon as Toney disappeared from sight again Chase asked Cody, "Cody, is that another room on your right side?"

"No," Cody replied, "It's a closet."

"How big is it?" Chase asked.

"Uh," Cody went to go check, "It's like a hallway."

Everest heard the answer and gasped, "He could move Officer Volkmann in there and we could breach inside. No one would be in the line of fire except Toney!"

Chase nodded in agreement, "Cody, I'm going to ask you something very risky but we'll get your back. I'm positioning a few men to repel through the windows and breach the door but you've got to get out of the way. As soon as I tell you were in position move him."

"Okay," Cody nodded.

"Rubble, get my squad excluding Rocky and get to the door. Skye, Everest, get the windows.

"Roger that," Skye nodded.

"About time," Everest said just audible enough for Chase to hear.

He wanted to say something but he shook his head at her. Chase looked at Ryder and motioned him to keep the call going. Ryder nodded in response.

Rubble, Zuma, and Radar ran to the door and quietly approached. Chase made sure to keep an eye on Darius and Carson. At the same time, he waited for the go to give Cody the flag. Cartwright showed up which was utilized to take Chase's place in watching the two subjects and calling backup. Everything was working out. All they had to do was get Phil and Toney detained.

X

Phil listened as Marshall began his story, "You see, my father was a soldier once. He fought in the cold war, Special Forces. He was a Marine. One day he saw something he shouldn't have. Something no one wants to see. And it changed him. He never was the same again. He even started to beat me and my brother... brutally."

Phil covered his side where Marshall presumed his mother had beaten him. He went on about his past. Rocky stared at Marshall, he too, hearing this for the first time.

"My mother had to leave me and my brother behind because she could only get my little sister away before he found her. She escaped just in time before he could catch her and probably kill her. She never came back. It was just me and my brother. A few years and he left me too. Left me and promised to come back. He didn't, come back either, though. I was left alone to be my father's stress reliever."

Rocky lowered his eyes not wanting to even believing what he was hearing. Phil wiped his eyes and tried no to recall his childhood.

"H-how long did you have to take it?"

"Since I was nine, until I was seventeen. I escaped right after he beat me one more time. What did your mother use?"

Phil took time to think and replied, "A wood plank… You?"

Marshall hesitated and replied, "A fire poker."

Phil shook his head, "I knew it, you're lying, you wouldn't survive that!"

He put up the lighter and bag of explosive powder, Rocky also raising his weapon to take him out should it come to that. Marshall nodded in understanding and sighed.

"My dad still cared, there still some of him left. Even through all that."

Phil sized him up then demanded, "Show me."

Marshall stared at him hesitantly but Phil demanded it again, "Show me your scars! Prove to me you understand!"

Marshall could tell he felt he was being mocked. Hesitantly but surly, Marshall put his weapon down and began to remove his armor.

"Marshall…"

"Just watch him, Rocky," Marshall ordered.

Marshall finally got his armor off and then lifted his shirt while turning around. Rocky and Phil both were shocked to see what they had. Phil closed the lighter and dropped both items.

"How did you survive that?" He cried, "How did you… I didn't think…"

"Phil, the world may be cruel but it never aims for one person. No one's ever alone. That's why it's so small."

Phil sniffed and wiped his face a few times but went on his knees. Rocky took out his cuffs while Marshall put his gear back on. After that, he called Chase.

"Chase, Phil is secure, we just need to get Toney now."

"Copy that, join, Rubble at the door and get ready for breech. Back up is on its way. We need you to get to Volkmann as fast as you can."

"Copy that."

X

Chase waited for Rubble to say they were ready. Rocky brought Phil to the floor they were on and put him with the Darius and Carson. As soon as Marshall but up with Rubble's squad Chase gave Cody the all clear.

"Okay, Cody, once Toney leaves move Jasper and close the door."

"Okay," Cody nodded.

Cody put the phone down and waited for Toney to go the bathroom again with the next load of drugs. Finally he disappeared and Cody got his chance.

"Okay, I'm going to move you. This might hurt," Cody said to Jasper.

"Kid, just get out of here. You have your chance," Jasper groaned.

"No, there right outside the door, were both getting out of here, okay? It's going to be fine."

Cody got up and grabbed him by the legs then tried to move him. Jasper groaned in pain and Cody apologized.

"I'm sorry, it's going to hurt, just a few more feet okay?" Cody assured.

He tried again but Toney came back to call for Cody's help. Cody tried to act as if everything was normal but Toney had already seen them.

"You… you little son of a…"

Chase saw on the camera that Toney was escalating and knew he had no choice, "Move in! Go! Go! Go!"

Rubble kicked down the door and started to shout. Everest and Skye broke through the windows and joined him. Toney shot at Rubble but his shield stopped the bullets from hitting anyone. Marshall got to Jasper as soon as he could and started to stabilize him best he could.

"Hey, good job, Cody. My name is Marshall," Marshall looked up and saw a bleeding spot from Cody's chest, "Oh crap."

Cody collapsed but was caught by Marshall, "Cody, come on! Stay with me, kid, your almost out of this."

Marshall got some bandage and covered Cody's wound but it was too late. Marshall knew that the bullet had to have hit the heart. It was no later that he finally noticed Cody wasn't breathing. He checked the pulse and sighed. Cody was gone. Toney was, by this time, already detained. Marshall set Cody down and put a hand on his eyes, holding them there for a bit get his eyes closed. Everest approached a bit concerned for Everest Jasper watched as Cody faded away. The paramedics came and got him away from the scene.

Everest called Marshall's name to get his attention but he didn't respond, "Marshall?"

She came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder, "Marshall, there was nothing you could do."

Marshall sniffed and got up, "I know. There never is."

He walked out of the room. Leaving Everest alone. She looked at Cody's body one more time.

"I'm sorry," She said to it.

She left for the morgues to take him. The team regrouped outside, Radar finishing the report, and getting Rocky and Rubble to help him pack up the gear. Everest was leaned up against one of ambulances and watched as Chase passed her up.

"They said Volkmann's going to be okay… The kid wasn't anyone's fault. It's like you said, he was in the line of fire."

Chase stopped and sighed, "No, Everest. It's all our fault. We were supposed to get him out of there and we didn't."

"What would you have done? Anything I said? He'd of just shot the kid on instinct and went after us or the same thing would have happened that just did. I understand that now. I almost wonder what would have happened if we just told him to lock himself in there."

"That was probably the only option that would have kept him alive," Chase said leaning against the ambulance as well.

Everest sighed and pat his shoulder, "Hey, at least we know for next time."

Chase looked down and echoed, "Yeah, next time."

After a few hours, the group returned and their shift ended. Chase was out in the parking lot ready to go and tell the family when Skye called out to him.

"Chase!"

Chase looked up at her and waited. She caught up to him and took time to catch her breath.

"Listen, Everest told us you probably needed some support. Leading that op had to have been hard."

"At least I know for next time," Chase said back.

Skye smiled and asked, "You're going to go and tell the family, right?"

Chase nodded silently; Skye smiled and offered, "Why don't we tell them together? Then…"

She leaned it with a smile and whispered something to him. Whatever it was he lifted his eyebrows and got his smile back.

"Alright, fine, but don't blame me if…"

"I won't so let's go," She smiled pulling him to her car.

He let himself be pulled to her car. Meanwhile, Marshall just watched and shook his head with a chuckle. Everest also saw the whole scene.

"Huh, I thought they were together," She mused.

"Yup," Marshall sighed, "Ready to go?"

"Yes, I am," She kissed his cheek, "Let's go home."

And they did. Despite their losses, it was a good night for company.

(I would like to apologize for this one's delayed update. I couldn't get to finishing it for a long time. I can only hope this will never happen again. But, now promises.)


	6. Chapter 6: Attention Shoppers!

Marshall brought his motorcycle to a halt and disengaged the engine. Everest hopped off first and stretched her legs.

"How do you get used to that? That hurts after a while. That position cannot be comfortable, can it?"

Marshall chuckled and flipped the legs down to keep the motorcycle standing while he dismounted, "It does take a while but eventually the position becomes second nature, like driving, and you love it. I like the Kawasaki's leaning position. The Harley Davidson, however, is pretty awkward. I don't see how anyone can sit up like that."

"I don't see how either of them is comfortable. If I could afford a car right now, I'd get one."

Marshall chuckled again and saluted her, "Well, goodnight, Everest."

"Hold on," She stopped him and smiled, "How about you… come visit my room. It's a lot better than yours. Besides, I might as well give you the extra key. Unlike you, I didn't carry the extra around."

Marshall shrugged and nodded, "Alright, but don't blame me if I open the door and you're getting dressed."

"Hah, you won't even have to worry about that," She laughed, "I have an actual room."

Marshall raised his eyebrows and nodded in approval, "Well you definitely have a better budget than me. E. just aren't respectable anymore."

"Oh, I'm sure you're up for a raise. You're really good at what you do."

They entered the apartment's rotating doors. Marshall took a moment to wonder if it was an apartment or hotel.

"Nice place," Marshall said, examining the surrounding.

"Thanks, it caught my eye as soon as I looked at it. It was the only place that stuck with me when I was looking for a place to live. Just wait to see the room."

She led him up to the fifth floor and took a left. They walked down the hall and made a right to room 557. She smiled at him as she swipped her cardkey and opened the door.

"Here we are, home sweet home."

He walked in and chuckled at himself for being speechless. The room was painted with a fine ice-blue color and had large windows on the opposite side, where Marshall was facing, that reached from the ceiling down. There was a balcony as well. On the right there was a big screen TV with three blue sofas facing a coffee table in front of it. In the middle of the coffee table was a bowl with some fruit. The floor had fine polyester carpet also with an ice blue. On the left there was a kitchen that had stainless steel cooking dishes hanging above the island. A door and a bar separated the two rooms. There was some stairs that lead to the catwalk above that had three doors. One, the closest, was the bathroom, the second was her room, and the third was a guest. Other than the decorations and random assortments of furniture, the room was fit more for a family than a single person.

"Like what you see?" She asked taking off her jacket.

"Definitely better than my place," Marshall smiled, "That's for sure."

She giggled as he stood in once place and rolled her eyes, "Well, come on, don't be shy. Take off your shoes there and leave your jacket and gloves there on the hanger. Come on in; it's just us."

"That's what I was afraid of," Marshall mumbled taking his leather jacket and motorcycle gloves and putting them—gloves in the pocket—on the coat hanger.

He sat down slowly on a couch as Everest left for the kitchen. He expected the sofa to be tough but he was surprised to feel soft material meet with his back. He breathed out and relaxed stretching and popping a few tight limbs.

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked with the sound of glasses in the background.

"Water," He replied, "And don't spike it, please."

She laughed at the joke and promised, "I won't. I don't even drink."

She came back with two glasses, one clear with water, the other sparkling. She sat down and gave him the clear one and sipped at the bubbly beverage.

"So, do you like it here?" She asked.

He shrugged and replied, "I'd take just about any place that's not the one I have now."

She smiled and messed her with soda-water nervously, "That's great, because… I was thinking that since you already have a hard time living at your other place… maybe you could move in here with me."

Marshall nearly choked on his water and asked, "Isn't that a bit fast?"

She sighed and replied, "We've known each other for five years, Marshall."

"Technically, five weeks," He corrected.

"And those five weeks we've told each other about everything about each other. That came out weird but it was the only way I could word that."

"Everest, if someone ever wants to visit me I have to make sure you and I don't get caught together. Chase and Skye can keep a secret but everyone else won't know what to do. Keeping this from them may cause some trust damage."

"I know," She said lowly, "But…. I just don't want you to be in there. That place doesn't make me feel comfortable, leaving you in. I want you to live someplace better. Pretty soon you just might have to."

"It's going to be okay, Everest. I promise. Don't worry about it."

She sighed, put down her glass, and leaned into him. He put his down too and hugged her close. She turned her body and faced him. After a couple of seconds their lips met. Marshall stroked her hair and she hugged him closer. Their eyes closed and deepened the kiss. Everest pulled away and aimed for his neck. He planted kisses on her neck in return. She moaned at his contact trying to get more from him. She undid her hair from the ponytail and started for his western shirt. The buttons were easily undone she could just pull the two ends apart and they'd undo. She returned to another kiss and felt his chest through the white undershirt. His hands then went for her shirt as well. She lifted her arms and parted form his for him to just lift and remove it entirely. She finished with his western shirt and scooted back so he could lie down. She then proceeded to climb on top of him and continue the kiss. After a few minutes they parted and took deep breaths. Marshall nervously put hand through his hair.

"You okay?" She asked.

"I've never done this before," He wiped his face with the same hand he brushed his hair with.

Everest giggled and replied, "Don't be too sure, remember?"

Marshall groaned and asked, "What, did you spike my water again?"

She giggled again and replied, "I didn't spike your water; I just took initiative… But, if you want to go over the whole thing again, maybe this time you can put the blindfold on."

"Everest, don't talk like that," He pleaded.

She laughed and laid on his chest, "Do you at least want to see my room?"

Marshall sighed laid his head back. Everest waited for an answer. He rolled his eyes and sat up, then preceded to pick her up from the couch.

"Which door?"

She grinned slyly and replied, "That one."

He climbed the stairs and went to the top floor, middle door. She opened the door for him so he could walk right in. The room itself was exquisite. The bed was king-sized and had its own bathroom. The rest was a random assortment of decorations, required furniture such as dressers or drawers. He placed her gently on the bed then closed the door. When he turned around Everest smiled at him seductively and beckoned him closer. He crawled on top of her letting her remove the white undershirt. She then went to his belt buckle and fiddled with the strap to undo the whole thing. He in turn unclipped and unzipped her skinny jeans. Hers came off first. When she stepped out of them his started planting his lips on her feet then up to her shin soon reaching her leg and stomach. The contact made her moan and grab his hair. She tried not to pull his hair out but the contact became so pleasing to her pale skin. Her breaths were short; her hands explored his bare chest. He had a lot more muscle than when he was a Ranger. Delta must have done something to him. Finally she undid his pants and removed them as fast as she could. The backed up to the head of the bed and continued their session. As it began to heat up again, Marshall's hand started to travel to her bra strap. His hand rested on it before he heard something that would stop him. His phone was ringing.

"Ugh, just ignore it," Everest wrapped around him.

"Everest, that's my work phone I can't ignore that," He tried to pull off from her.

She rolled her eyes and groaned, letting him go in the process. He stayed on the bed but picked up the phone and answered it.

"Benton here…Yes, I'm available then…Shouldn't Roberts handle that?...Hmm, okay…I'll be right there…" Everest crawled behind him and hugged his waist, her head resting on his chest.

"Another one?... Alright Katie, good night…Yeah, you and me both…Good night," He hung up and sighed, "I have to wake up early tomorrow and take Chase's place in a debriefing; we've got an F.N.G."

Everest tilted her head and asked, "Already? Who? What's his name?"

Marshall sighed and replied, "Kaiser Larson."

X

Rocky woke up in his house his wife suffocating his arms for some strange reason. He could barely feel it. He tried to get loose but her grasp was only tighter.

"Rosita? Rosita, please, I can't feel my arm," He tried to pull her off but she wouldn't let go.

"You're not getting away from me this time," She murmured in her sleep.

Rocky began to pull harder. A pregnant Rosita was a hell of thing to deal with. He probably wasn't going to let it happen again. She was a real grouch about everything.

"Rosita just let the arm go, I won't go anywhere please I can see it turning blue," He pulled this time falling off the bed.

His arm felt like it was being stabbed by a bunch of needles and at the same time he could feel his blood rush through. He looked at his pale hand and examined the rest of the arm.

"Sheesh, what's up this morning?" He asked sitting next to her.

She hugged his side and mumbled, "I don't want you to go today, Rocky; it's really cold right now."

"That's fall for you," Rocky smiled brushing her hair from her forehead, "I can stay for just a few minutes but I have to leave soon."

"I hate your job," She began to cry.

Now her emotions were coming in. This lady was completely unpredictable.

"Hey, it's okay; I can spend time with you in the afternoon…"

"You mean at midnight?" She sniffed and continued crying into his side.

He sighed and brushed her back, "Here, how about I make you some breakfast? I'll make you some bacon…"

"Bacon?" Her eyes popped as she suddenly switched over.

He nodded, "Yes, bacon. And I think eggs would probably do you just…"

"Make…me…bacon…," She glared darkly.

He stood up and put up his hand, "Okay, just a bacon sandwich today. Fine."

She didn't stop till he got out of the room. He shook his head and exhaled.

"Wow, she's nuts."

He shuffled down his stairs and went to his kitchen to start his cooking. His phone rang with Zuma calling.

"Hey, what's up, Zuma?"

"I'm just calling to make sure we're still on today," Zuma replied.

Rocky sighed and replied, "Yeah, but I might take a while. Rosita is in dire need of bacon and I have to cook it. She's getting really hugy too."

"It's almost time isn't it?" Zuma asked.

"She should be having it this week, yeah," Rocky confirmed, "And man is she emotional. I really hope this load is just twins I think three is too much and one is too little. She wants at least two kids! After this, no more, I'm getting fixed."

Zuma laughed and said, "Okay then, I'll be sure to get you a seat. Hey, by the way. Not to brag or anything but Rosie's mother is on the mend. She might even be cancer free. She's not certain."

"Hey, how about that," Rocky smiled turning a burner on.

He set the pan on top of the burner and got to the fridge. There wasn't much bacon left so he'd have to make sure to buy more.

"I know! She's talking about visiting me since her mom's going into the hospital for a while. She just had her surgery yesterday. It was too dangerous to let her go today. So, I'm finally going to see her."

"Been practicing your Spanish?" Rocky teased.

"'Been practicing your Spanish?'" Zuma mocked, "What do you think? Of course I have. Although, I'm going to need some help from her."

"Well, you could always talk to Tracker," Rocky chuckled, "He speaks conversational Spanish."

"If I get a chance, fine, I could, but, for now, I'll just wait for Rosie."

Rocky chuckled again and asked, "So, you put thought into it yet?"

Zuma took a moment to think about what he was talking about but it clicked, "No, not much. But, I bought the ring. I think maybe she needs a little more time before I ask her."

Rocky rolled his eyes, "Dude, how long have you been dating her?"

Zuma paused and calculated then answered, "A year and eleven months."

Rocky shook his head, "Yeah, that's more than enough time for her. I think she's waiting."

"I don't know, dude; I don't want to rush into anything," Zuma said nervously.

"It's going to be fine," Rocky assured his friend, "Besides, what's the worst that could happen? She'd probably just say that she's not ready or she needs to think. When she does, leave it alone and wait."

"Yeah… I guess," Zuma scratched his head.

"Hey, don't worry, we've got your back. I've got to go, I can hear my wife coming down."

"Alright, bye," Zuma laughed.

"Good bye."

"Who was that, honey?" Rosita asked a bit shrewd.

"That was Zuma, he was checking up on me," Rocky replied.

Her eyebrow lifted and she began to glare. He knew what she was suspecting.

"Honey, for the love of Pete, I am not having an affair!" He called it out.

"And how can I know for sure? Huh? Your gone most of the day and you don't come back till twelve!" She shouted.

"What? I come back at nine thirty! You only notice I'm back at midnight!"

"Are you calling me a liar, Rocky McLellan!"

Rocky groaned flailing his hands then taking a deep breath and froze, "Listen, honey, I'm sorry I'm not being my best for you, but I can't do that when you expect every bad thing about me. That's all you can see. If this is the relationship were going to have…"

"No honey no, I'm sorry I didn't mean it!" Rosita ran into his arms, "I just don't know; I'm sorry!"

Rocky sighed and asked, "What are you even talking about?"

"I don't want a divorce! I don't want one," She cried.

"What? A di… I wasn't talking about a divorce!"

"You weren't?" She sniffed.

"No, I was saying if this was the relationship we were going to have we really need to reprioritize. I would never divorce you. I love you too much."

She smiled and cried into his shoulder, "Oh, honey, I love you too."

Rocky shook his head and hugged her back this time, "There there, it's alright." _Wow._

X

"Kaiser Larson, age 26, ex-civil protections specialist, and currently unmarried… You are here under direction from the government as well?"

"Yes, ma'am," He replied with a nod.

Kaiser had never imagined being in the P.A.W.S. He had heard that some civilian personnel could get in if they displayed special combat experience and had a government supported job, much like the SWAT. But this was a force that would take anyone who had the skill. He must have caught the government's eye with last week's stunt.

"Have you had any wounds or injuries recently in the last ten years?" Katie asked.

"None that were serious, Ma'am," He replied, "I never had to visit the doctor within that time if you mean that."

"Expound," She said taking her eyes off her computer.

"My hand got jammed into a car door but it was pretty minor. The worst I got was probably indirect exposure to pathogens. I cut myself on a sharp piece of bloody metal. I signed a form and we got me checked up but nothing wrong happened."

"Alright, that's excusable. You took the physical?" She asked.

"I did," He nodded.

She clicked on the computer and nodded, "So it appears. You passed that, good, and you underwent training?"

"I took a combat test and they said I didn't require it," He responded, fixing his position in is chair.

"Hmm, yes, it does say that. You'll fit right in, I think. The last one did. One of your team members will meet with you shortly. They'll go over the other tests that you will need to pass. Don't get too nervous, that won't make a very good impression with them."

Kaiser chuckled with her and waited a few seconds before Marshall, again knocked on the door and was let in, "Alright, I'm here. So, Kaiser, is it? I'm Marshall, the third guy who gets to command Alpha Team, and the first responder to your medical issues. Something you and I can both share. If I'm not around I can count on you to stich up my team, right?"

Kaiser smiled and replied, "I couldn't stich but I could patch them up."

"Good, that's exactly what I wanted to hear. 'Cause I can't be in two places at once. Katie, I'll take it from here."

Katie looked at him with lifted eyebrows and replied, "Alright, then take him."

Marshall tried to figure out why she was looking at him like that and widened his eyes remembering, "Oh, Much obliged, _Secretariat_."

Katie smiled and nodded, "Very well."

Kaiser followed Marshall out of the office and into the hall, "Alright, so according to everything you…"

Marshall was too busy looking at the file to see that he was about to crash into a stroller with a bunch of file paper. It was too late for him to move when he had just crashed into it… And Radar.

"Gah! G.D it, Doc! Does it always have to be me?!" Radar exclaimed.

"Radar, what are you doing on this floor?" Marshall asked.

"I'm the information's officer in Alpha team, Doc, have you forgotten that? Who's the guy?"

"Radar, proper respect, this is the F.N.G, Kaiser Larson."

Radar scanned Kasier and sniffed, "Already? So, this is the unlucky guy who gets to see if he can pass any of these? Wouldn't want to be yah."

Radar took out a hand. Kaiser looked at it and shook it after figuring it out.

"Pleasure to meet you, Radar," He smiled.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, please do me a favor and watch where you're going unlike this guy."

"Radar, can it and at least do both of us a favor to help me pick these up," Marshall snapped.

"Alright, fine, I'm on it," Radar said beginning to help.

Kaiser also assisted and helped the work load. They were able to get on the elevator and head down to the first floor for Alpha team's designated area.

"Alright, this is the area we go to sign in and change, get equipped everything else. This is our area and ours alone. You have permission form now on until you quit or get fired to use those doors to get in," Marshall pointed.

"Yeah, but don't bump into the guy with papers while you're at it," Radar added.

"Radar, stop interrupting the sit-rep."

"Yup, sure," Radar put up his hands then proceeding to push the cart of files to the team area.

"That is the guy in charge, Ryder Mason. Were in a bit of a rush to get this done since you have to go through the tests we wish you went through in training. For now, we are inactive because of it. Just pass a few of them and we can get back to the good stuff. Whatever tests you pass you will be certified to do in real life crisis. Others will be your restriction. If you fail a test you have a second chance. Then you have to wait three months and try again should you fail again. Just try and pass the first time."

"What test is this?" Kaiser asked.

"You'll see," Marshall grinned, "Ryder, here he is."

Ryder looked up, "So, this is Kaiser Larson. My name is Ryder. This is Rubble, Zuma, Radar, Chase, you've met Marshall, and these two are Skye and Everest."

Each one waived or respond to make sure he knew they were the named. Rydre looked around.

"Where the hell is Rocky?"

"Late," Zuma pointed.

Kaiser's eyebrows scrunched looking at the sign in sheet. He looked as if something were on his mind.

"We'll just start without him for now. Radar."

Radar picked a random file and gave it to Ryder. He looked through it and nodded at Chase without Kaiser's notice.

"Alright, you have responded to a bank robbery, the man is forty two years old, his name is Adam Schmitt, has no partner, and needs money to save his wife and pay for her medical bills. He has only one gun and has a hostage."

Chase quickly grabbed Rubble and shouted, "Just get out of my way! No one needs to get hurt, let me go and we can get out of here!"

Kaiser was surprised by the action and looked at Ryder. Ryder shrugged.

"What are you looking at me for, talk to him, figure out what's going on," Ryder motioned.

Kaiser looked at Chase and put up his hands, "I agree no one should get hurt. Let's just talk, okay? Can we do that?"

"There's nothing to talk about," Chase growled, "I need money, my wife is dying, and you're in my way. Just get out or I'll shoot this guy."

Chase tightened his grip; Rubble, shocking whispered to him, "Ease up, that's a little too tight."

Chase relaxed his hold and whispered back, "Sorry."

Kaiser took a deep breath and asked, "Can you explain what all is going on Adam? I just want to help."

"You can help by moving out of my way," Chase said aggressively.

"Maybe, but if I do that, word gets out, people get ideas, they think they can get what they want, they get hurt, we get hurt, and things won't go so well. Your wife doesn't want you getting hurt, Adam."

Ryder's eyebrows raised and he commented, "Very good approach, that's a good start."

Chase relaxed and he swallowed hard. Kaiser went on.

"So, can we talk about this? See what we can do to help?"

Chase looked up and said, "But she's going to die."

"She won't die, not under our watch. Why isn't insurance paying for this?"

"We don't have insurance," He began to fake cry.

"No friends that are willing to help?" Kaiser went on.

"No," Chase shook his head.

Kaiser nodded feeling stuck. Chase then escalated.

"There's only one thing that can help. And that's if I get out of here with this money!"

Ryder shook his head and said, "You lost it; get it back."

Kaiser raised his hands and said, "Whoa, don't do that keep talking to me there's gotta be more. What happened that got her to the hospital?"

Chase shook his head and said, "No! I'm done talking! So get out of my way or this guy goes down!"

"Adam, Adam," Kaiser felt his grip loosening.

"Get out of my way!" Chase shouted and after a few seconds he dry fired the gun.

He let go of Rubble and clicked his tongue, "You let tension build. You had a good approach but if you stay silent he'll think you're stalling and escalate."

Kaiser sighed and shook his head, "I just lost it. I didn't know what to say anymore."

"Yeah, that happens to a lot of people and it's hard to do. That's why you go through these tests and exercises to we don't end up getting those blocks."

Rocky raced through the doors and said, "Sorry for being late, Boss. After eating with Zuma I had to come back and help my wife and her friend. She's a situation in and of herself."

Kaiser's eyes widened. Rocky noticed him and his eyes also widened.

"Kaiser?"

"Rocky?"

There was a moment of silence until the two clashed hands and laughed, "Dude, how's it going!"

"I'm great, man, how about you?" Rocky was the first to respond.

"Fine, just fine, but I…uh… failed a test," Kaiser then replied looking at Chase.

"Oh, the 'talk test'. Yeah I had to take that one a couple of times before getting a grip on it. It's not actually required but it's good to have the certification. We need people with that ability."

"Rocky, you know Kasier?" Skye asked.

"Absolutely! After my military life Kaiser got me back on my feet and even got me a job as a civil protection specialist. My area was more of recycling and environment improvement or earthquake response. He's like an older brother to me. What have you been doing all this time man?"

Kaiser shrugged and replied, "While you went on to do this I was still making another part of the world a better place."

"Oh, like the earthquake in Haiti?" Rocky asked.

"Yeah, I was there too," He nodded.

"Well what brought you here?"

Kaiser chuckled and replied, "A stunt I pulled last week."

Rocky grinned and asked, "And what was that?"

"I beat up three bank robbers and talked them down when they got hostages," Kaiser replied.

"So why couldn't you talk me down?" Chase asked.

Kaiser shook his head, "You were playing an old guy, the bank robbers I talked to were kids."

Most of Alpha team laughed. Chase blinked and shook his head. The team took Kasier through several other testes that he passed. Eventually, Radar heard the alarm from his computer and looked at it.

"9-1-1 Call! West side! Adventure Bay Mall! Someone heard a gunshot and someone else reported gang activity! Same location."

"Alright, let's gear up!" Ryder shouted, "It looks like were about to see what your specialized in. Your pack should carry anything that you specialize in."

"My pack?" Kaiser asked.

Ryder pointed, "Uh huh, for instance, Marshall has medical supplies and uses both bullet and fireproof armor. His wrist has an X-ray screen so he can locate broken bones and insertions like bullets."

Marshall flipped his wrist and smiled. Kaiser raised his eyebrows in surprise. When Kaiser looked at his new gear he could find the normal black outfitting with a beige colored badge. The number on it was ten. Everyone else had one too. For example, Chase had a blue badge patch with an orange two. Skye had a pink with an orange four. The numbers were orange; the badge had an identifiable color. Kaiser's outfit consisted of the original combat clothing with pads, body armor, gloves, tactical vest, and helmet. His pack was still a bit of a mystery so he took time to look through it. From what he could tell, it was the same stuff that he would use at his old job.

"It's a bit heavy," He chuckled getting on his back.

"Yeah, you'll get used to it," Rocky laughed, "It has a voice automated system that automatically grabs what you tell it and pick it out. For example: ratchet."

A drill arm with a ratchet head removed itself from the bag and come to level with Rocky's awaiting hand. He grabbed onto the handle and revved the drill twice.

"I used to be a combat engineer," He grinned before saying, "Away."

The tool returned to the pack. Kaiser chuckled with admiration of the pack. He couldn't really wait to use his.

X

Rachelle, a girl of about nineteen years of age, began to clean up the various bottles of beer that her mother consumed. Newspapers were littering the floor, and the whole housing smelled purely of tobacco smoke. The walls needed to be repainted; some decorations were tilted until she came around to straighten them. She looked at a calendar and tried to read through the vomit stain. It was Saturday, September 16, 2017. She marked it off and marched upstairs.

She walked into her mother's room and said, "Its nine A.M, mom."

She opened the curtains and her mother screamed briefly, hiding her face. Rachelle looked outside the window, thinking she saw someone peering inside from the distance. She didn't see anyone so she ignored it.

"Honey, don't you have something else to do?" Her mother asked.

"I have work in a few minutes. I'll head over there soon," Rachelle replied.

"Just go now; I'm having a hangover. And close that stupid curtain," Her mother groaned.

Rachelle stared a moment at her mother then obeyed, "Okay."

She closed the curtain and left her room but stopped at the door to turn and say, "I love you."

Her mother uncovered her face and said, "You too, know go before your late."

Rachelle nodded and left. She stepped outside and looked around anxiously. As she moved she fixed her purse's position on her shoulder and kept walking to the Adventure Bay Mall for her job. Suddenly, at her dread, she heard laughing.

"Oh, there she is," Laughed a girl Rachelle knew as Cortney.

She kept walking hoping they only wanted to laugh at her. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Cortney, with her three friends Charla, Jessy, and Malinda, approached and continued to laugh at her.

"Hey, Slut!" Jessy laughed, "Going off to lie about another girl's boyfriend?"

Still Rachelle tried to ignore them. They, though still caught in laughter, continued to pick on her.

"Hey, bitch, didn't you hear her? Are you ignoring us?" Malinda asked.

Rachelle continued to walk, a bit faster this time. Finally, they rushed in front of her and continued their harassment.

"Hey! Didn't you hear me?" Cortney asked, "Come on, Rachelle, tell us? How did it feel to have sex with _my_ boyfriend and then lie? Huh?"

"I didn't lie," Rachelle glared, "He raped me."

"There she goes again," Charla giggled.

"Stop lying, Rachelle. I know you seduced him. You asked him to do it," Cortney said closing in on her.

"He grabbed me and raped me," Rachelle said slipping between her, "Say what you want, Cortney, it doesn't change what your boyfriend is."

Cortney laughed silently to her bravery. Malinda and Charla had done the same.

"We should just kill her right here," Malinda whispered, "Make her pay."

"No, I have a better idea," Cortney grinned evilly.

Rachelle sighed in relief seeing Cortney, Malinda, Jessy, and Charla leave her alone. For now, at least. It was only a matter of time before she got herself killed. She feared that day but waited for it to happen so it would all finally end. She reached the mall and entered through the back where only employees were permitted to enter. Her boss, Teresa, greeted her when she got to her post.

"There you are, I was getting worried," She said, "Are you alright? You look really shaken."

"I'm fine," Rachelle replied.

"You don't look like that to me," Teresa shook her head, "You sure?"

Rachelle confirmed and Teresa let it go for now. A few hours of work and Rachelle was given a moment to take a break. She planned on what to eat but first needed to use the restroom. She was unaware who was following. When she entered she got a chance to use the restroom and wash her hands. It was then when she saw Cortney and her friends again.

"It's time to pay, Rachelle."

Rachelle's eyes widened as they stood, blocking the only entrance. A few women took the time to run out of the restroom understanding what was happening. They ignored them stayed on Rachelle. Malinda and Charla both had a gun to make sure she didn't try anything. Jessy grabbed her but she struggled. Charla then helped and Malinda watched the entrance. Cortney took out a pair of scissors and smiled.

"This is going to make sure that you will never lie ever again. Hold her!"

Rachelle struggled and screamed to get free, crying for someone to help her. No one was coming. She felt the scissors cut across her hair and sometimes her scalp. When Cortney was finished, Rachelle had uneven stands of hair here and some bald spots. Her head was bleeding.

"There, now there isn't going to be a man in the world who's going to want you. And were not even finished. I haven't even got to your face yet."

The girls laughed but Rachelle's anger began to boil. Charla's gun was close by and as she boiled she retaliated and struggled for the gun against Charla. The fight was easily won but being a nub nose .44 revolver, it went off at a loud concussive sound, discombobulating the four and killing Charla. The bullet also grazed Jessy.

Rachelle ran off as fast as she could and put on her hood. The three left over girls followed her but lost her in the crowed.

"Damn, we lost her," Jessy groaned, "The cops are going to be here soon."

"Yeah, and they won't let anyone leave. She's going to be stuck here. That means us too," Malinda growled.

"Then we kill her. Keep an eye out for her," Cortney glared at the crowed.

X

Alpha Team arrived at the mall and geared up. Ryder grabbed a few things and circled his arm.

"Let's move in, pairs of two if you can. Radar, I'm going to need your help, we'll establish an outpost in the surveillance room."

"Roger that," Radar nodded.

They took their gear through the back doors and into the camera room telling each guard what to do in the time of crisis. At the same time, Radar, Rocky, and Zuma were setting up the computers.

"Kaiser, do what you do best, keep the people calm and make sure they know they can't leave just yet. If they have free rein to get out then the shooter's getting out too."

"Got it, Sir," Kaiser nodded and got on the speaker, "Attention shoppers this is Kaiser Larson of the Protect And Watch Service. We understand you are in a panic after hearing what might be a gun shot. We are currently investigating the situation. Please remain calm and submit to any checkups and searches. We will do everything we can to protect you. We ask that you do not try to leave the vicinity so we may identify the shooter faster. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Skye, Chase, I want you guys to search the area that the shooter was heard from," Ryder was ordered.

"Which area was that, Sir?" Chase asked.

Radar waved and said, "I'm bringing up the surveillance now."

The team watched the camera's footage of Rachelle running out with a gun looking around anxiously and taking off, hiding the gun in her jacket. The three other girls came up and looked around for her.

"Looks like we have three witnesses," Pointed Zuma at the three girls.

"Their faces are pretty clear but what about the other girl's? Radar, Get identifications of those three and try to clear up the image for the first one."

"Copy that," Radar nodded, "Chase, Skye, the bathroom they came out of is at the fourth floor north side. The camera doesn't seem to get much specific than that."

"We'll recognize it when we see it," Chase nodded and took off with Skye to the area.

"Alright, Marshall, take Zuma and cover the lobby area, Kaiser, Rocky, take the east side, Rubble, Everest, take the south side. Travel to each floor, back up is on its way, they know you're in charge."

"Roger that," They replied and Ryder looked at the map, or maps actually, of the mall with a sigh, "For floors, three hundred and thirty-six shops, five sectors, and more than two thousand people. It's like finding a needle in a hay stack."

"Yeah, and if we don't find them quick we might find a blood needle," Radar sighed tapping at his computer and accessing the three girls files.

He leaned over and started typing a report of the moment and the plan, as well as the time. He printed mugshots of the three girls and put them on the wall.

"Now we find out who they are and what they are doing. Let's see how innocent these three are."

Ryder watched Radar work and turned back at his maps. How were they going to do this without taking too much time? Ever second the shooter had was a second they could escape or do something drastic… or regrettable. Either way, Ryder had to figure out how to make things fast. Impatient people made this job worse. Like now.

X

Chase and Skye past the security who were keeping the bathroom away from public access. Chase questioned witnesses who found the body to call the security and Skye investigated the area.

"Ryder, this looks pretty bad. The entrance wound is pretty big and the exit even bigger. Marshall, if I get a picture could you identify the caliber?"

"Probably," Marshal replied, "I'm not exactly a specialist in the area."

"We'll at least get an idea," Skye said using a camera to snap a picture of the wound, "She looks terrible… Wait, there's a lot of hair and blood around here. I think someone was undergoing a makeover… against their will."

"So, it was gang activity," Ryder sighed.

"It's not the dead girl's here. She must have been one of them."

"There must have been a struggle. The gun going off could have been an accident," Radar suggested.

"I'm going with Radar, Boss," Chase agreed.

"Alright, so the subject could be a potential victim then. Either way, we need to find fem all before they find each other. Rocky how is your end doing?"

"No-joy," Rocky replied.

"Rubble?"

"No-joy."

"Marshall?"

"No-joy."

Ryder sighed and looked at the cameras, "Alright, just keep looking, team."

"Ryder, there's a tattoo on this girls arm. I'm taking a photo and bringing it to you," Skye said while snapping the photo of the tattoo.

She jogged out and motioned chase to follow her. On the way she stopped next to Marshall in the lobby.

"Marshall," She addressed and showed him the photo.

He looked at the wound and blew out, "If it's not a shot gun it's a .44. It's a nub nose for them to conceal it so well. That's ten times worse than yesterday's .357. Those things are loud. I'm not surprised half the mall heard it."

Zuma looked at it and shook his head, "Why would she be carrying that?"

"Who knows?" Marshal shrugged.

Skye examined the wound and asked, "How do you know for certain?"

Marshall scoffed and grinned, "You didn't find a bullet shell so there was no way it was a desert eagle or anyting lilek that. It had to be a revolver. And if it was this…"

Marshall pulled out his 500 magnum, "Then there would be a far bigger whole. Big enough to see right through it."

"Got it," Skye nodded, "Thanks a lot."

Chase followed and Skye called Ryder, "Ryder, we may have gotten a lead on the gun that killed the girl. Marshall says it might be a .44 caliber."

"A .44 caliber? Why would they be carrying that?" Ryder asked.

"Some girls like their big guns," Rocky jested.

"Or they wanted to make sure they killed their target," Kaiser added, "But did they even know what kind of power they were taking with them?"

"Doubt it," Chase shook his head, "Gangs don't pay attention to the kick detail. They only want the power."

"Let's hope that this was the highest they got," Ryder sighed running his head through his hair.

"Speaking of which. Marshall, why are you carrying a higher caliber pistol than issued?" Skye asked.

"Regulations never said you couldn't supply a higher caliber," Marshall grinned.

"But it says only use issued equipment," Everest chuckled.

"Yeah, and a sidearm was issued. But what caliber?" Marshall chuckled back.

Skye smiled at Chase who had to laugh. Marshall was right of course. Then never specified if it had to be in the armory. And, of course, as far as anyone was concerned Marshall was never confronted about his sidearm.

"Team, stay on task," Ryder finally rebuked.

"Roger that," Everyone affirmed.

X

Cortney looked everywhere for the girl they were targeting. Finally, when Malinda started tapping her and pointing at a periwinkle hoody. Cortney took out her gun and started to shoot at it. It was Rachelle after all. She took off in a run crying and trying to get away. Some people started to scream and point. Kaiser and Rocky heard the shots and took off toward that direction. They spotted the three girls and ran off after them.

"Split up!" Cortney ordered.

They scattered and Kaiser and Rocky were forced to take different directions. Rocky called for Marshall and Zuma's help. Malinda tried her best to get away from him but Kaiser was more used to running than she was. She tried disappearing in the crowed but the citizens scattering to the sides out of her way wasn't exactly helping. He took off at more of a ramming sprint and tackled her.

"Got one," Kaiser called.

"Alright, bring her back here," Ryder called.

"Roger that," Kaiser replied.

"Ah, damn it; I lost mine," Rocky reported, "Marshall, Zuma, you see anything?"

"No-joy," Marshall replied, "She got away."

Rocky sighed and looked through the crowed. The panic wasn't helping.

"Sir, you need to resituate them. We have to form lines and start doing checks and letting people go. If we put merchandise alarms next to the doors they might be able to trigger if they changed close. We already know what they wear now."

"Good idea, Kaiser. That should help everyone calm down," Ryder nodded.

Meanwhile, Jessy and Cortney met at a cloths store, "Cortney, they got Malinda."

"I know. They know what we look like know we need to demp these cloths and get new ones."

"Alright," Jessy agreed, "But we still need to find that whore."

Cortney took some cloths and replied, "I know. And we will."

X

Rachelle hid inside another cloths shop on the north side of the mall. She looked at herself in the mirror and cried. She pulled out her phone and tried to call her mother. The phone rang but nothing picked up. The phone went to voice mail. She sniffed and stared at her phone. She tried another number. The only other person she knew would care. She stared at the name and pressed the green button.

"Rachelle? Is that you?" Teresa asked.

"Teresa, I'm so sorry," Rachelle cried.

"Teresa, there are police in there you need to find them and let them help you," Teresa cried.

"I just wanted to tell you thank you for everything you've ever done for me…"

"Rachelle, please, don't do this. Listen to me…"

"And… I'm really sorry…"

"Rachelle? Rachelle?!"

Rachelle pressed the red button and put her phone away. She pulled out the .44 and cocked the hammer. She sniffed and lined up the shot with her head.

From the distance she could barely hear someone coming shouting, "Is there anyone still in here?!"

X

Kaiser put Malinda in the camera room and sat her down in a nearby chair. Ryder tunred and greeted her.

"Hello, miss. My name is Captain Ryder Mason, mind telling me your name?"

She was silent. She glared at Ryder what seemed to look like intimidation. Ryder was unphased and looked at Radar.

"Tight lips? That's alright, Radar?"

"Her name is Malinda Grove, charged for three offenses but we couldn't get her till now."

"And they are?" Ryder asked.

"First is speeding, second is murder, and third is assistant rape," Radar replied, "Enough to put her in prison for life."

Malinda's eyes widened. She looked at Ryder who grinned.

"Well, that's too bad. But… maybe we can discuss that little issue if you just open up a bit."

Skye and Chase walked in and Skye handed the camera over, "Here you go boss."

Ryder looked at the tattoo and the dead girl and asked, "Is this girl familiar to you?"

"That's Charla. Rachelle killed her. Were in there and she wen and shot the place up. Got her and hit my arm too."

"Oh really? Well, Kaiser, you want to look at her arm and make sure it's alright?" Ryder asked and showed him the photo.

Kaiser nodded, "With pleasure," and grabbed the arm making her flinch.

He found the same tattoo and nodded. Ryder smiled and thanked him then sat in front of Malinda again.

"Now, do you want to tell us what's really going on?" Ryder got up and pointed at a picture, "Does this situation have anything to do with it?"

Malinda glared and didn't answer. Ryder took a deep breath and kicked her chair then raised his voice.

"Now, Malinda!"

"Yes," She huffed, "That's Courtney's boyfriend, Jason. Were after the bitch who lied about him. She said he raped her. She's lying."

"And what makes you think that?" Ryder asked, "Has it ever crossed your mind that her boyfriend isn't who he may say he is. He's been charged with a whole bunch more than you have. The difference between you two is that you have a chance to have an easier sentence. So, you either take that chance or we can do this on our own and people may die."

Malinda stared into his eyes then relaxed with a sigh, "Her name is Rachelle. We were planning on just cutting her hair till she fought back. Then we wanted to kill her."

"That's better," Ryder smiled, "Team, keep looking for her."

Ryder said to those still in the room. The nodded and went off do their duty.

"We'll discuss your deal later," Ryder said turning back to his work.

"Boss, we just got an alarm from a woman named Teresa. She says she knows Rachelle and just got a call from her. I spotted while trailing some calls making sure the subjects weren't communicating in another way, but she stopped it too soon. It's around Chase and Skye's area. A cloths shop called Aeropostale."

"Did you get that, Chase?" Ryder asked.

"Loud and clear, heading that way," Chase replied.

Skye and Chase moved into the store. Chase pulled out an IR device and looked for tracks. He found a few fresh steps and nodded.

"Is anyone still in here?" Skye asked.

After a couple of seconds they heard shuffling in the changing room. Chase pointed and put his IR away. They moved over and tactically entered. Chase opened the doors one by one, with Skye pointing her gun at each door. They reached the last one. Chase looked at her and she gave a nod. They opened the door and found nothing but the .44 revolver that Rachelle had.

"Boss we didn't find Rachelle but we can safely say that Marshall knows his gun wounds. It's exactly what he said it was."

"Did she slip out when you were checking the area?" Ryder asked.

"There's no way. This is a small store and it looks like she was here recently. How could she have escaped?"

"Boss, according to this staff map there's a ventilation system right next to them," Radar hyped.

"Roger that, there's a ventilation system next to you guys. Did she go through?"

The searched the area and eventually found an opened vent. Chase sighed and pulled out a flashlight.

"Yup, she crawled out. She must be an employee to know how to open it. And she probably wouldn't have thought of it if she wasn't. Skye, it's a pretty narrow vent, you'll have to crawl on your own."

"Okay, I see some blood smears from her head. I'll follow her and try to catch her," Skye said accepting Chase's flashlight.

"Be careful, Skye. She might try something drastic," Ryder warned.

"It'll be fine," She assured.

"Please, Skye, just don't do anything stupid," Chase smiled.

"You worry too much, big boy," She winked.

He closed the vent behind her and left the shop to look for a detour. He couldn't help but be concerned for Skye, still.

X

Everest and Rubble watched the surrounding area but couldn't find their targets. They didn't notice Cortney and Jessy pass them up and get in line to get out of the mall. They slowly approached when an alarm suddenly went off. The two took off seeing the security point at them. Everest and Rubble turned over and saw the two girls making a run for it and gave chase.

"Go downstairs, their splitting up," Rubble pointed.

"Got it," Everest nodded.

Jessy pushed through the crowed and down the escalator. Everest, in the other hand, took a faster route in sliding down a railing and taking off at a run at her. She closed in and finally got within arm's reach to which Everest grabbed her and hugged her close. Jessy tried to struggle free but Everest tackled her and cuffed her.

"One of them is secure. Rubble?"

"Working on it," Rubble replied.

Cortney took a sharp turn to try and lose him but bumped right into Marshall as a cost. He hugged her to catch her in response.

"Second one secure," Rubble huffed, "Man I need to start running more."

Marshall chuckled while he got her to the ground and let Zuma cuff her. Marshall picked her up and started to take her to the camera room.

"Boss, we got the subjects. Now we just need to take care of Rachelle," Zuma commed in.

Ryder watched the cameras and replied, "Skye and Chase are taking care of it.

X

Skye chased after Rachelle higher and higher up the mall's roof. Skye called out for her but Rachelle wouldn't stop running.

"Leave me alone!" She cried.

Skye in response called out, "Rachelle, we only want to help! Nothing's going to get done if you run!"

Rachelle sobbed as she reached her destination and looked over the edge. Skye froze in place as soon as she saw her climb the railing and stare at the floor far beneath her. Skye took a silent deep breath and heard Chase running up to her. She quickly motioned for him to approach quietly. He froze and nodded taking baby steps forward.

Skye trued back to Rachelle and said, "Rachelle, I know you might be thinking about jumping right now but can we talk about that first?"

Skye slowly approached and Rachelle turned back to her, with her eyes drowned in tears, "What is there to talk about? What do I have to live for anymore?"

Skye finally reached the railing and asked, "Rachelle, can you tell me what happened today?"

Skye attached some rappel rope to herself and hooked it on the railing then climbed over with her. Rachelle nodded and began her story. She told Skye everything, who the gang was, what they did to her, and even what happened in the mall. She suffered through every detail for Skye to understand.

"And now… I don't know what to live for anymore… My own mother doesn't even care about me… I have no one… no one who would even stand to look at me anymore," She sobbed puling her hood back.

Skye stared at the blond hair filled with blood and bald spots. Skye looked down and then up at the now full moon.

"I understand how you feel, Rachelle, I really do. When I was fifteen years old, I felt the same way. The only difference between you and me is that my mother's in jail for neglect."

Rachelle sniffed and listened to Skye's similar tail, "I tried to do everything for my mom but she never noticed it. She was more interested in the men she sold herself to then me. She almost put me in the business too if I hadn't run away. I ran into an… old lady who worked at an antique store."

Skye chuckled to ease the deliverance and hopefully bring a smile to Rachelle. It just barely succeeded.

"She asked me where my home was and I told her. I told her everything she needed to know to get my mother to jail and it happened. I didn't want it to happen but it did. But, you need to understand that old lady wasn't just any old lady. She was who I called my Aunt Nana. She took care of me and helped me with my homework. I even worked with her at the store for just a few dollars when I was even younger. As I got older and my mother was taken away, she took me in. She helped me, Rachelle. I said to everyone that I had no one who cared about me. No friends, no family… I was a loner at school. But all that time I did have someone: my Aunt Nana. Don't you have someone like that Rachelle? Someone who's worried about you?"

Rachelle shook her head and replied in shaking breaths, "I don't know. I don't remember."

Skye smiled and replied, "Well I do… did you know the only reason why we started looking for you is because of someone you called?"

Rachelle cried and whispered, "Teresa?"

"That's right. Teresa said you called her and she was really worried. She told us first thing after getting off the phone. She wants to help you, Rachelle."

Rachelle looked down at Skye's extended hand and said, "Do you think she will really accept me now?"

"I know she will," Skye replied, "Rachelle, you and I are very alike. How old are you?"

Rachelle sobbed and replied, "Seventeen."

Skye extended her hand more and touched Rachelle's face, "You know, Rachelle, by your age I still thought about quitting, but I didn't. I pushed on and you want to know what happened? Do you want to know what I did?"

Rachelle nodded closing her eyes in Skye's caring touch. Skye smiled caressing her cheek.

"I joined the marines and became a helicopter pilot. Then I came here and now look at me. I'm helping you because my Aunt Nana helped me. There was something she used to say that I always told myself when I thought about giving up. She said that a strong woman is never identified by the friends she had but the friends she doesn't. You see, that means, Rachelle that we don't befriend people who influence us in a negative way then people don't' see us that way. Were always identified by the people were with but it's always the friends that we don't have that people are looking for. If I tried making friends with the cool kids my Aunt wouldn't have been able to recognize me. The cool kids were… drug addicts. And now, I can be in this team. Not only that, but… can you keep a secret?"

Rachelle smiled and nodded with a sniffle. Skye pointed behind her.

"See him? Because we're on the same team we're not supposed to be together but we are. I love him with everything I have. And someday you're going to find that person too. No one can see the future, Rochelle. So don't say you won't have something you don't have. Are you willing to do that with me?"

Skye stretched out her hand and offered it to Rachelle. She, in turn, accepted it but suddenly slipped of the railing. Skye in impulse grabbed her tightly and hugged her close. Chase ran to the railing and pulled the rope so it wouldn't stretch too far. The rope stopped and slammed Skye against the wall. She grunted but held Rachelle tighter to make sure she didn't drop her. Chase pulled them up and secured the two. Rachelle hugged Skye and thanked her.

Half an hour later the team met on the bottom floor parking lot where all the E. and law enforcement were. The three gang members were taken away and an E.M.T had finished his checkup with Rachelle. She kept herself wrapped in the blanket given to her. And saw Teresa when she came. They shared a hug and some tears. This time, Teresa's deal came through and Rachelle agreed to move in with her. Before the team could leave, however, Rachelle stopped them and approached Skye.

"Hey, listen, I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me," She started off.

Skye smiled and replied, "Your very welcome, Rachelle. I only wish I could do more."

"You did," Rachelle smiled, "But why did you?"

Skye chuckled at the question and put some though into it, "Because it's what I signed up for. And it's what my Aunt Nana would do."

They both shared a smile. She hugged Skye once again in thanks.

Skye hugged her back then, at the pull-away, said, "Now you stay out of trouble in school, alright?"

Rachelle laughed and said, "Well, the worst that could happen is the 'cool kids' talking me down trying to talk me into drugs."

Skye grinned and asked, "Want to know something that might help?"

Rachelle tilted her head in interest. Skye looked around the parking lot and found her target.

"Marshall!"

Marshall lifted his head and started toward her when she waived her hand at him. He moved through the crowed and met with them as fast as he could.

"Yeah?"

"Are drugs cool?" She asked with a big grin.

Marshall looked at Rachelle and back at Skye and replied, "Oh absolutely."

Rachelle widened her eyes in surprise, "What?"

Marshall chuckled and explained, "Well think about it… Cool _is_ the temperature you are when you're dead, right? See, cool things get you killed. So don't try to be cool, just be awesome."

Rachelle laughed and nodded, "Okay, I get it."

Skye laughed and advised, "And keep that in your memory. Someone else might need to know."

Rachelle finished laughing and replied, "I will, thanks again."

"No problem, good bye, Rachelle, and best of luck."

Alpha team left the scene and returned to the HQ to pack up and go home. Skye examined her back to see a large dark pink bruise on her back. Everest examined it and shook her head.

"That looks pretty bad. You might need to get it checked up on."

Skye sighed and replied, "I know. I will tomorrow if I get a chance. It hurts like no one's business."

"I bet," Everest stared at it, "So, anything special tonight?"

"I heard most of the guys are going to Mr. Porters but I'm not going to join them," Skye replied.

"Oh, I know. I'm sure Chase isn't going either. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. Marshall made sure of that."

"Oh, so we have two scandals now," Skye smirked beaming at Everest.

Everest sighed and replied, "Yes, and you wouldn't believe our story. I've actually known Marshall for five years and for every one of them I thought he was dead."

"Wow, small world," Skye raised her eyebrows.

"I know. But he's still not changed much. He's not exactly a 'love machine' until you marry him."

"Ugh, Chase is the exact same way. Those two have rubbed off on each other," Skye laughed.

"Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky sometime," Everest laughed.

Skye was silent only humming to herself. Everest looked at her oddly. It took her a minute to get the point.

"Oh, Chase and Marshall are NOT the exact same way, Marshall won't even lay a finger near there!"

"Shh, someone might hear you," Skye giggled, "It was only once. Chase and I have only known each other for a year and a couple of months was our anniversary. He finally gave in when I convinced him. Maybe Marshall would do the same."

"Doubt it, the only time he got even close to doing it was when someone spiked his water with moonshine."

"Ooh hard liquor's a mean thing," Skye laughed, "But if that's what it took."

"No, I promised," Everest rolled her eyes, "But right now, I'm trying to convince him to move in with me. I mean, his apartment…"

"Don't even get me started, "Skye shook her head, "Chase and I visited that thing and I would have called a parent a child abuser if they had a room like that!"

"No kidding," Everest nodded, "But he's so stubborn."

"He'll come around. Marshall's a softy but he's really tough. A bit accident prone, but a serious warrior. He's stubborn for pretty good reasons. I think you know why."

"Yeah," Everest sighed, "He told me. Well, your all dressed and packed. Best not keep your man waiting."

"Good idea. Good night, Everest, and thanks for talking," Skye waved.

"Goodnight and… don't exercise too much," Everest jested.

The two girls giggled and parted. Skye met with Chase. The plan was the original, he'd ride out and she followed. When they got to her house Chase asked to see her back. Once inside, he checked it out in the living room.

"You hit that wall pretty hard," He whistled.

"Yeah, so if were going to do something tonight you need to promise you'll be gentle."

Chase sighed and shook his head, "Nope, not while you're in this condition."

"Oh, come on, at least graduate from the floor," She giggled and kissed his cheek.

"That, I will do," He nodded, "My backs hurting form the last few times. I think it's worse than your bruise here."

Skye laughed with him and exclaimed, "Exactly! A better reason you need to share the bed. Did you bring your extra cloths?"

"Yeah, I was hoping to share your shower," He replied.

Skye smirked and asked, "Share or borrow?"

"Borrow borrow," He quickly corrected, "I meant to say borrow."

"Oh, come on, just once," She begged and closed the distance between them just lips apart, "This bruise won't let me reach back after all."

Chase stared at her and, finally, his reply came, "Alright fine."

She got up quickly with a, "Yay," and took off with his bag.

He slowly stood up and shook his head. He probably shouldn't have agreed to it, but she was right. A bruise like that would probably stop anyone form washing their back… or more than that really.

X X X X

Special thanks to marcogalmich for his OC Kaiser Larson. It took me a while, but I finally fit him in. If anyone else would like to do the same you are more than welcome to. See chapter 2 for details. I can put one more in Alpha team. So if you want your OC apart of Alpha team act now while you still can. Do it before chapter ten please. It's not the end, but it's a special one. Thank you for your time and, please, do take time to drop an idea off, review, etc. I'm more than willing to comply or make use of what you give me. It just helps me not waste your time and gives me something to make this story a bit more interesting. Thank you again.

-10000reasons


	7. Chapter 7: Bomb Response

First, I need to reply to guests.

First, to the one who gave me a suggestion: I will use it on chapter 8 since I already started this one.

Second to Crystal: Yes, but I need a lot of information. Future chapters require it and since you're a guest I'll need some way to communicate to you. That goes for this next guy.

Third, to PBJNachos: I can use Ty and would love any info you can give me.

Now, for those who are wishing to put an OC in here are the questions that must somehow be answered.

What is the full name of this character? He or she?

Is he/she a team member? If so which team? (I may or may break my own rule and put them in Alpha depending on the "shape" of the character).

Character's bio for file reference. (What is the background behind this character, how do you want this character getting in, and why is this character in the Protect And Watch Serves and not anywhere else? What made them accept the contract?)

Does the character have a military background? Why or why not? If yes, what branch and what M.O.S?

What is their favorite primary? Secondary? (This is for the future).

Are they in a relationship? If so, what's his/her full name, parents' name (Optional)? Any siblings (Optional)?

Finally, what is an attire you would give them if they go rogue? (For example, my OC Radar would be wearing an undershirt, black combat shirt, black cargoes, black Teflon vest, and some tactical boots. Any equipment you want can be given. Be detailed and use baby words if you have to.)

After answering these questions your character will be saved in a "top secret" file and be fully registered to make an entrance. Further questions may be added for expounding. Thank you for your time and have a nice day.

X X X X

 **Important** **please read** : I forgot to mention this, but the writing I've been doing is not all how I talk or think. This story, to make it more interesting and meaningful, represents real world problems and issues. As such, offensive content may be in use. Thank you for your understanding and/or discretion.

X X X X

Rocky and Radar had their guns pointed at Skye and Marshall. Despite the situation, there was a whole lot of laughing that didn't allow Kaiser to think straight.

"Listen, just tell me what you guys want," Kaiser started off.

"What do I want?" Rocky laughed, "What do I want? I want a coke! Yeah, that's right; I want a coke and medium-rare stake with onion rings on the side! That's I want!"

"Listen, Kaiser, I love how you are trying to save our lives right now, but could you pick it up please?" Skye tried not to giggle.

"Look, I know you want your coke but…"

"I…want…my…coke!" Rocky shouted.

Kaiser shook his head and shouted back, "You know what? Get your own damn coke, asshat!"

Everyone laughed and Radar shouted, "Bang! Bang! Whoops! There dead!"

Kaiser laughed and covered his face, "How do you wing that? No one makes a demand like that!"

"You'd be surprised," Radar shook his head, "One guy asked for a happy meal. We got it to him of course, but you know. Situations get more complicated. Some of them grow a brain and realize it's the small things that aren't easy to solve."

Ryder finally settled everyone down and assured Kaiser he wouldn't count that one. He shook his head at Rocky and Radar giving them a, "Shame on you." They shrugged and he waved Everest over. He whispered a situation to her and let her go up giving her the unloaded gun. She wiped her nose and got into character before grabbing Marshall.

"Again?" Marshall asked, "Gee guys, I love you too."

"Quiet, Marshall, Kaiser's trying to talk me out of killing you," Everest smirked.

Kaiser wiped his forehead and started again. The situation was going well this time. Everest was beginning to soften and cooperate. Kaiser eventually got her to let Marshall go.

"I don't want to hurt him," She fake cried.

"I know," Kaiser nodded.

"I don't want to hurt him I just…" She paused and Kaiser encouraged her.

"It's alright; you're doing just fine…"

Everest sniffed and shook her head, "No I'm not."

She pulled the gun up to her head and pulled the trigger. Kaiser rubbed his face and looked at the group.

"What did I do wrong this time?" He asked.

"She displayed symptoms of suicidal ideation. That's when someone plans to kill themselves, and you didn't acknowledge it. She wanted you to stop her, Kaiser. You need to understand what a subject displays so you can cope with it. Some subjects just don't want you talk them down, that want to engage with you. They need to understand that you get it. That's why you're here. It wasn't purely on your skill, Kaiser. Somehow, someone got ahold of your tip secret files and got them to the government who decided you were a candidate."

Kaiser sighed and looked down. He knew full well what they were talking about.

"See? That's the place you have to revisit. That's why eighty percent of the people who become a PAWS unit quit within the first year. Those who stay usually are form the military. I hope you don't plan on quitting any time soon."

Kaiser shook his head. He didn't want to quit but he sure did want to get this test done and over with.

"Alright, let's take a break. Look over your symptoms and remember them for tomorrow. Class dismissed."

"Finally, my neck is sore," Marshall said rubbing his tracheal pipe, "Do you guys have to hug me so close?"

"Aw come on, Marshal, were just giving you man hugs," Rubble laughed.

"Man hugs? Those were doll hugs. You know. The kind a little girl gives to her fresh new doll before she pops its head clean off!"

Chase messed with his hair and laughed, "You're just sour that you play a good hostage."

Marshall threw Chase's hand off his head and laughed, "You, sir, are an ass."

"Oh, he's an ass, he says," Rocky laughed.

"Let this be known, team, Chase is an ass. Write that down and don't forget it," Ryder laughed as well.

"Shut up!" Marshall shouted.

Zuma got Marshall in an arm hold and gave him head a knuckle rub. Marshall again got free and pushed Zuma away.

Rocky tapped Kaiser and motioned his head, "Yo, let's grab a drink. You have until tomorrow to get that stuff done."

"Count me in," Kaiser smiled, "Man, are those tests always that way? How did you complete yours?"

Rocky shrugged and replied, "I got the right situation eventually. It took me about as long as you so don't feel bad. This is more about finding who you can help. Obviously, you weren't going to complete Everest's since you're not yet married or cheated on. Speaking of which, how's your girl?"

Kaiser grinned, lost in thought, "She's doing fine. I called her last night and she assured me she was doing great, in fact. I don't remember what she said about what job she was doing, but it's what she likes."

"Great, awesome!" Rocky smiled, "How long have you been together now?"

"A year now," Kaiser replied, "She and I don't talk as much as we used to, though. I only just moved her, after all."

"Yeah, I get you," Rocky smiled.

"What about you? How's Rosita?" Kaiser asked.

"We think she's going to have one next Tuesday. We're looking at triplets, it seems."

"Wow, that's awesome, Rocky," Kaiser smiled patting his shoulder.

Rocky shrugged, "You bet it is. At the same time I'm dreading it. I mean, she's going to be alone with those kids. She's going to be exhausted. At least she won't be as much of an emotional wreck. She's the weirdest pregnant lady in the world."

"I don't know," Kaiser chuckled, "I've seen some pretty weird ones in my time."

"Hey, Rocky," Radar interrupted, "Good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear?"

"Bad's always the best to hear first," Rocky sighed.

"Well, the bad news is that it's not going to last long so don't get comfortable," Radar smiled.

Rocky flinched hearing this and asked with a growing grin, "And the good news?"

"Break time next week until the end of the year. Merry Christmas," Zuma finished, "That means we've got only a month."

"Pft, that's plenty of vacation for me. Who's taking over?"

"Bravo volunteered along with Foxtrot, Echo, and Delta teams. Everyone else has worked hard enough to get their vacation. Should be more than enough, right?" Radar asked.

"For Christmas, yes," Kaiser smiled.

"Any kind of vacation is better than no vacation," Skye joined, "Hey, Ryder! Who are you spending Christmas with?"

Ryder chuckled and replied, "Katie invited me over. I'll be spending it with her."

"Aw, romantic night next to a fire?" Skye asked.

Ryder stopped what he was doing and faced them then nodded, "Uh huh."

Zuma shook his head and laughed. The slow clap started and the others joined in.

"What's up?" Chase asked wanting in on the circle.

"Katie and Ryder are spending Christmas together."

"Thirty days of vacation alone at last, eh?" Chase asked.

Ryder smiled and replied, "Indeed. We were planning it for some time too."

"Isn't Katie the secretary of P.A.W.S?" Kaiser asked.

Everyone looked at him and simultaneously shushed him. He was a bit surprised at it but he knew well that meant never to talk about unless it was among the group.

Marshall looked at the alarm light and grinned, "You know, this is probably the first day we've had that's quiet. I guess the city is behaving today."

As if to spite him, the alarm went off. Everyone laughed at Marshall and ran to their gear.

Radar jogged to the computer and glared, "You just had to say it didn't you? You jinxed it, doc."

"Yeah, I know," Marshall sighed getting his equipment, "What do we have?"

"9-1-1 call, we've got a terrorist attack on the Adventure Bay Future Improvement office."

"That's the tech development labs!" Rocky exclaimed.

"That might explain the attack then. Let's see what we can do, we're looking at possible bomb threat here!" Ryder informed his team, "Rocky, you know what to do."

"Got it," Rocky called.

The vans loaded up and headed out to the targeted sight. When they got there the city was in complete discord. Firefighters, law enforcement, and paramedics were crowded everywhere. An officer jogged over to them.

"Thank God you're here. There are people still getting pulled out but there are several bombs inside. We've only located one but we can't find a way to get to it. It's got three hours but the faster we get it the better."

"Show me the spot," Rocky requested.

"This way," He motioned breaking into a run.

Ryder instructed several team members to different jobs, but instructed Marshall, Kaiser, and Radar to follow. They jogged over to the officer who was by a vent. When they reached it they started hearing voices.

"Hey! Is anyone up there!?"

"This Captain Ryder from the P.A.W.S! were here to help!"

"Oh, thank God. We can't find a way up! There's a bomb in here and were trapped! Someone is trapped in the debris! We can't pull her out!"

"Okay, were going to find a way down to you then!" Ryder called, "Rocky?"

"Saw," He called.

His pack ejected a small automatic saw and started to tear at the bars. Marshall called for some repel rope. As soon as the bars were completely sawed they fell through and made a wide enough entrance for the team to enter.

"Okay, we've got some repel rope so you can go down. But to get people up weren't going to need something else."

"They might not have the strength to pull themselves up," Ryder agreed, "We'll use one of the vans' winches."

"Alright, wish me luck," Rocky smiled.

He carefully slid down the rope until he found the group of people they were communicating with. They all looked happy to see him.

"Oh my God, you're here. Is there a way out? Do you have a plan?" Asked a woman.

Rocky stopped her and replied, "We've got a winch coming down with a harness. Everyone, I need to know your last names!"

The group of twenty all said their name, accept a woman unconscious beneath some debris, and Rocky nodded, "Alright, we're going to lift each of you one at a time. We're doing this in alphabetical order. Where's the bomb?"

"It's over there," Pointed a lady.

He looked at it and licked his lips. It was a very odd model, took high-tech for a terrorist attack. Either that of the terrorist was very clever. He started to approach it but another woman stopped him.

"Wait, please, you have to help my sister-in-law she's trapped," She begged, "She's first in line. You have to."

"I'll do it but if she's trapped you may have to go first," Rocky frowned.

"No, I'm not leaving her," She sobbed, "Just help her!"

"The winch is down!" Yelled one of the men.

"Come on, miss, your first," Said a man in a suite who was tending to her sister.

"No, I'm not leaving her!" She cried, "Please, I beg you."

"I'll get her out," He assured, "She's be up soon, I promise."

Rocky nodded at him in thanks as the woman finally gave in and left for her turn. The winch was unfortunately slow so it would probably take longer than needed for them to disarm the bomb of for it to go off. As soon as the woman reached the top they began to send the winch down again. An explosion followed suite.

"Another one's going off! Everyone get by a pillar!" Rocky shouted.

He shielded the woman who was in the debris as the building shook. Nothing came down fortunately but it caused a panic. Rocky shouted for everyone to calm down and assured them they were going to be fine.

"Now, we need help getting this lady out from under here. Anyone strong enough to lift cement?"

A few volunteered but not many. Rocky motioned them over and started to position them.

Rocky took his position and counted, "One, two, three!"

They lifted the cement and the woman suddenly gained consciousness and cried out in pain. The man from before looked down.

"Stop! Stop! We're getting her other foot!" He yelled.

The men easily let the cement cover her back to the comfort area. She took deep breaths and started to cry. The pain was unbearable.

Rocky started to brush her hair and comfort her, "It's okay, it's okay; we're trying to help you. Are you alright?"

She was silent except for a sob. She put her hand over her forehead for an answer to Rocky's question. No, she was not okay. He moved on to his next question.

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Rocky."

"Rocky?" She asked, "Rocky McClellan?"

Rocky arched his eyebrows and examined her closer. His eyes widened.

"Maria? What are you doing here? Marshall never said you were visiting."

Maria sighed and laid her head back down, "That's because I didn't tell him."

Rocky scoffed at her and warned, "Marshall's not going to like that."

She gave a weak chuckle and replied, "He's a big boy."

"Yeah, well you're going to get a mouth full when you get up there."

Maria sighed and groaned, "I know."

X

When the first woman got secured on the harness she was pulled up slowly until she reached the top. Chase and Marshal both pulled her up and instantly, Marshall recognized her.

"Darlene? What are you doing here?"

She widened her eyes and was just as surprised, "Marshall, we… I…uh…"

"We?" Marshall asked.

"NO! Just me," She quickly lied.

Marshall, being trained for interrogation, recognized this immediately, "Darlene, who else is down there?"

"There are a tone of people, I think twenty," She tried to change the subject, but Marshall still wouldn't have it.

"Darlene!"

She bit her lips and held onto her tears, "Maria."

Marshall's eyes popped and he looked down in the vent. He looked at Ryder and who shook his head.

"Don't even think about it, Marshall. We already have twenty more people to pull out. We don't need any more."

Marshall pound the cinder and cursed strongly. Ryder took time to sue the com to reach Rocky.

"Rocky, you there?" He asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," Was the reply.

Ryder looked at Marshall, with Everest trying to consult him, and asked, "Is Maria Allamang there?"

"Affirmative, did Marshall find out?" Rocky asked.

Ryder sighed and rubbed his forehead, "Yeah, he sniffed it out like a blood hound. Did you get any info on the bomb?"

"Boss, this bomb is a different model than any I've ever seen since C4 just started being a thing. Maybe even worse. I've never seen one like this before."

"Just be careful and watch what you're doing," Ryder urged.

Rocky grinned and replied, "It's me, boss. Looks like this bomb is using a chemical sulfate explosion mixed with some highly unstable halogens explosion."

"English," Ryder rolled his eyes.

"Mix two chemicals and it goes boom," Rocky rolled his eyes.

"And that is our explosion?"

"Just a tiny one. It's in some sort of aluminum tub. My chemicals are just a guess. This could just be sulfur stuffed next to a lighter."

"Why the hell did you start with the chemical crap then?" Ryder asked.

"I wanted to show off," Rocky grinned again.

"This is no time for jokes, Rocky."

"Which is why I'm jesting on the go. Hey boss, do me a favor and get me some liquid nitrogen. If I poor some next to the systems it should freeze them up and buy us another hour. Every second counts right now."

Ryder affirmed and shut the com off. Rocky returned to his work and looked over at Maria.

"You never told me what you were doing here."

She looked over at him and remained silent. He kept working on taking a part the bomb that looked kind of like a washing machine. He sighed and looked at her.

"Maria, I need you to talk to me so I know you're okay. It might help so you know what you're going to tell Marshall."

"I can't, Rocky, I can't. It's classified," She sighed.

"Does Bentley know?" He asked.

"Of course he does," She replied, "He has to."

"Then why can't Marshall? There both family."

"Bentley's a detective, Marshall is a… a response unit. He's not cleared to know."

"Top secret jobs," Rocky shook his head, "The one thing that tears families apart. Just goes to show the government doesn't really care. 'Top secret job, I'm classified, can't tell you nothing.' I hate it. You think Marshall has no clearance? Soldiers should have more clearance than anyone. Especially people like Marshall who end up dying for that classified thing that they don't even get to know. Can't you do a man justice and just tell him what he's dying for?"

Rocky scoffed at himself and continued to rant. Maria was unsure if he was talking to himself or her. It didn't even sound like a well-organized group of sentences.

"It's the least the damn government can do so we know were dying for something good. Like those poor bastards out there in Syria, every one of them. We wanted to know… We wanted to understand what we were volunteering for. And they all died, every one of them, not one damned man left alive. And if they didn't shoot them dead it was decapitation for them. Yeah, all for some classified data. And what was it?" Rocky was entranced in the bomb and with his thoughts.

Maria knew he was talking to himself now. Even if he wasn't though, she could barely understand him mumbling.

"What was it, old boy? What did your boy's die for?" He asked himself over and over until Maria couldn't bear the anticipation.

She asked softly to ease the itch, "What was it Rocky?"

He looked at her as if he forgot she was there. She asked again.

"What did your men die for?" She asked.

He laughed almost looking twisted, "You won't even believe it," he laughed more, "It… it was a stupid jet plan that didn't even work. The…the government sent us over to retrieve their top secret jet that was supposed to control minds and it didn't even work."

He laughed again and she could tell he wasn't doing it because it was funny, "The damn thing didn't even work… And only five of us came back. Five Rangers out of three hundred. I didn't even know their names until we got on the copter."

Rocky stopped laughing and sniffed while getting back to work, "But you know what? Who cares? You can keep your classified data. Just remember something, if Marshall has to die for it then are you going to at least tell him it's worth it? Don't bother answering, I don't want to know."

Maria sighed and turned her head. She began to think. Perhaps Rocky was right. But no one in the office would like her thinking like she was. She had to weigh the scale before deciding.

Ryder again called Rocky to check his progress, "Rocky how are you doing?"

"Fine, boss, but I need that nitrogen," Rocky replied.

"Zuma's got it. He's going to lower it down the best he can. How many do you have left down there?"

Rocky counted and replied, "Seventeen."

Ryder sighed, "Alright, we'll get it taken care of."

Rocky waited by the nitrogen and the harness. He grabbed the canister and put it down then called another person up.

"Okay, sir, your turn," He motioned.

"Hold it; we have the same letter how are we going to decide that?" Argued another man.

"He picked me, that's how," the first shot back.

"Stop, your only wasting time," Rocky pulled them both from the harness and continued, "We'll just have someone else go if you can't agree and we'll settle this now."

He waved a woman over and got her harnessed. While she was being taken up Rocky whispered to each of them. They answered and Rocky nodded.

"Alright, he's going to have to go first. The lighter the faster."

"What? That's not fare!" Shouted the second.

"It is, and if I can remember correctly your name doesn't start with 'M'. Wait your turn. Don't think I'm dumb, I'm trying to help everyone here!"

"You're doing a good job at it! You don't even know what you're doing!"

"I do! You just need to trust me!"

"I'm not staying down here!"

Before Rocky could argue further a man, the same who was taking care of Maria all this time, spoke up.

"He can have my turn. I'm just after him."

The two settled down, Rocky sighing and his opponent thanking him gratefully. Rocky took the liquid nitrogen and pored it into the bombs systems.

"There, that should buy us some time. Boss, how are things going up there?" Rocky asked.

"Fine, Marshall is taking care of everyone he can. He's a bit upset that he's not seeing Maria. What's she doing?"

"Lying under a pile of cement. She's not combing out any time soon. If Rubble were down here we might be able to break it with his jackhammer but we can't risk adding to the evacuation."

"We'll send his pack down. That should help."

Rocky nodded and examined the people around him. By now, the next person was being loaded. Rocky kept his eyes on him for a second then reverted to Maria. She was crying to herself silently, the man from earlier trying to comfort her.

"I'm going to die down here, aren't I?"

"No no, you're going to live. You'll be alright. I promise."

She started sobbing and asked, "Why are you still here? You should have gone a long time ago."

"I couldn't just leave you while you were here," He smiled, "No one else would care for you."

"You're caring for a girl who's already gone, no one's gone to get me out from under this. You should just go."

He began to cry but held her hand and said, "I'm not going until you are. You're going to make it. You'll see."

He let go and sat himself a little ways form her and looked around. He was biting his finger. Rocky examined him. He looked…guilty. Rocky took a quick picture and called Ryder.

"Boss, I've got a guy who looks pretty guilty about all this, I'm wondering if he has something to do with it."

"Assisted terrorist? You think he was forced?" Ryder questioned.

"I don't know. I'm sending a photo up to you," Rocky said.

He walked over and gave the camera to the guy who was going up and continued to check up on the bomb.

X X X

The man went up and Ryder took the camera. He looked at the photo and whistled at Radar.

"Radar, get identification on this guy," Ryder tossed the camera.

"Got it, boss-man," Radar nodded.

He took off toward his van. Ryder checked up on Marshall to get feedback on everyone's health.

"There doing fine, just a bit of dust inhalation, sprains, and some probable fractures."

Ryder nodded, "Okay. And what about you? Doing okay?"

Marshall sighed and put a stethoscope around his neck, and removed his gloves. He buried his face in his hands and didn't reply. Ryder asked again.

"My sister is down there and she's not coming up. You think I haven't figured out she probably trapped under something? How would you be?"

Marshall took another pair of gloves and waved on the next guy and started his checkup. Ryder sighed and left knowing he wasn't going to be able to speak to Marshall for a while. Everest stopped Ryder to speak to him.

"How's he doing?"

Ryder shook his head, "As soon as Maria gets up here he'll do fine. Right now it looks like he's running on instincts. The biggest mystery right now is what she was doing here without telling him."

"Rocky might know," Everest suggested.

"No, let him work," Ryder shook his head, "Rubble, how's getting your pack down there working?"

"It's going to be a bit hard but I think we've got a plan. Harnesses aren't supposed to carry packs but, thanks to Kaiser, we might just be able to get it to stay in until it gets to him."

"I was able to tie a few nots to the harness to keep the pack in," Kaiser explained, "I had some rope."

"Good job, Kaiser. Rocky! We're sending the pack down," Ryder called.

"Got it," Rocky replied.

"Boss!" Radar called, "I was able to find out who our guy was. He actually used to work here in the labs. He's not even supposed to be here."

"What?" Ryder asked.

"He was fired for a dangerous experiment he ran. Some kind of bomb," Radar hinted.

"So he is our guy. What's his name?"

"Adalard Smoyer, German nuclear scientist. He was trying to build a smart bomb that could be triggered across the world, explode large enough to level a few buildings, and only be the size of a suitcase. He nearly succeeded. It was supposed to be an undercover weapon to take out terrorists when trading. Terrorists would take it to their boss or base and boom, here history."

"Did it work?" Ryder asked.

Radar motioned around him, "You tell me."

"Then what is Rocky seeing? He never said it looked like a suitcase," Ryder questioned.

"Yeah, I asked him and he said it looked like washing machine. Boss, look around, there not under the lab office. And that vent is exactly meant to give the world some air conditioning."

"It's an exhaust vent," Ryder realized.

"Yup, and the hole were pulling those people out of, I just realized, does not look natural."

"There in under a hotel?" Ryder asked.

"Staff housing," Radar corrected, "I'm surprised though. How did they find out that the one washing machine was the bomb and the others were not?"

Ryder was silent but was forming a plan in his head, "Alright, find out where this guy's lives and send Marshall and Everest over to it. Kaiser, take Marshall's place. Rocky."

"Yeah, Boss? I got the pack," Rocky replied.

"Great, but I need you to figure out how the people found the bomb down there," Ryder ordered.

Rocky quickly answered, "Way ahead of you. The guy I took a photo of found it. After everyone got trapped, he tried to find it to make sure that they were safe where they were and he ended up finding it. Why? Is he our guy?"

"Yeah he is," Ryder replied.

"Then why is he so willing to stay down here? That doesn't make sense…Unless…"

"He didn't want innocents getting hurt."

"That's why the timer on this one was so long. He expected they would be evacuated by now."

"And now he's trapped with several people down there. Get Maria out of there and focus entirely on the bomb. Use some spray so you can narrow down the numbers. Skye! Get over here and got the address to this guy's house then grab Marshall and take a look around. Let's see if we can get any more info."

"Got it," Rocky nodded, "I got it taken apart anyway. I should be able to get to the bare bomb itself now."

Skye likewise gave a curt not, "Understood, boss."

"And tell Kaiser to take his place," Ryder added.

X

Rocky took the pack and greeted Maria, "Hey there. Alright I'm going to ask everyone to stay back. We don't want tis going wrong! Hold still, Maria."

"What are you doing?"

Rocky switched his packs and called, "Jackhamer."

The large arm outstretched and unfolded the jackhammer. He turned it on and started to chip the debris. As soon as it cracked he called a few people over and planed the lift. After they were situated they got the first piece of debris off her foot the other piece was looming over her body she could slide out but she didn't have the strength to. They lift the next piece and helped her up. Her foot was bad enough that she needed help to get over to the harness as well. Rocky hooked her up and then returned to the bomb. An hour was left. He took some spray from his bag and sprayed it on the number lock. He took a black light and flashed it on the numbers.

"Okay, the numbers are…one, three, four, and six. Simple, but hard. Great."

"Radar can run a few codes," Ryder offered.

"No, guys like this aren't going to use something personal. He's too smart to use an address or something."

"Alright, we'll keep getting people, you just do what you can to slow down the bomb," Ryder said.

Rocky stared at the Adalard, who was trying to comfort a woman in distress. Why was he doing this? Revenge? It had to have been. But it had to be more than just getting fired. Something else must have happened. Either that or he was overthinking it. But someone so kind wouldn't do this for no reason. Rocky looked at his chess board and debated his moves. There's only so many ways to do this and none of them looked plausible. He was in check for now.

X

Marshall stared off into the passing buildings while Skye drove. The ride was silent until she decided to talk to him.

"If it helps any rocky was able to get her into the harness. She's probably being brought up right now."

"I know, I heard," Marshall replied.

"I would expect you to be a little happier," She smirked, "do you want to talk about it?"

Marshall sighed and didn't reply for some time. Skye leaned forward to see his face and looked back at the street.

"Marshall?"

He sighed and finally replied after some hesitation, "She's here and she didn't tell me. It bothers me. Why didn't she say anything? She always does."

"Maybe she wanted to but she didn't think about or she didn't know if you were busy," Skye shrugged.

"Even during work she calls me, Skye. She doesn't worry about that. Sometimes it's during the worst times. That isn't the issue."

Skye sighed and tried to think of another issue that might be unavoidable. Marshall had already thought up his own ideas.

"She doesn't trust me, does she?"

Skye gave him a serious look and rebuked him immediately, "Marshall, your sister loves you and trusts you with every bit of her life. She would never keep anything that serious away from you unless she had to."

Marshall sighed, deep in his thoughts. Skye looked at him once in a while. She filled in the silence with more encouragement.

"Did you ever stop to think what you've hidden from her, Marshall?"

"That was something else," He rubbed his face.

"No, it really isn't," She shook her head, "Remember, you're not the only one with classified data."

"This nearly got her killed, Skye!" He yelled.

"And so does your job; don't you snap at me!" She scolded.

Marshall looked away got back to staring at what was outside. Skye studied Marshall and narrowed down his emotional state. He was trying to find a place to vent his emotions. In truth, he just wanted to know if his sister was okay. He didn't care about what she was doing here.

"Marshall, Maria is going to be fine. Just don't yell at her when you see her, Okay?"

Marshall scoffed quietly and dismissively waved his hand, "Fine."

"Alright, it looks like this is the place, ready?"

"Yeah."

They emptied the van and got inside the apartment. The landlady gave them a key to the place. As soon as they got inside they began inspecting the room. It was decently sized, smelled a bit of cinnamon from the air refresher that was going. The room was clean and had no clear signs of abnormalities. Nothing was in the kitchen, Livingroom, or bedroom. Even under the bed was clean.

Skye searched between the hangers in the closet, "He definitely has some cloths here. So, he does live. Here. Rocky, what does the bomb in the washing machine look like?"

"It's kind of odd to say," Rocky replied, "I mean, other than this keypad and tube it's got a small size. About…maybe a toaster…with a…tube."

"That explains how he was able to operate in here without notice," Marshall sighed.

"How do you know he worked on it here?" Skye asked.

"I just black lit this table. There's chemical stain. He actually did it. He created a little, big bomb the size of a suitcase. Smaller in this case. He must have not stopped working."

"Radar, can you hack into his computer form there?" Skye asked.

"Way ahead of you. There are some illegal sites here in his cloud history. He was getting his stuff form the black market."

"And that explains his chemicals," Skye grinned at Marshall, "But there's nothing he has about any of his experiments or projects."

"Wouldn't be too sure about that," Marshall said getting back into her closet, "One thing I learned from my M.I.A in Syria: never trust what you walk on."

He ripped the carpet and found some loose wood. After removing it he smiled.

"Aha."

Marshall pulled out a box and examined it, "Mahogany, vintage, and made in Germany. Looks like the right thing."

They examined the papers and looked for anything that would help them disarm the bomb. There was plenty, but every bit of info was more about what no to do or how to just blow it early. There was nothing about disarming except that a code was needed. There was no answer to what code however.

"Great," Skye sighed, "Boss, we found out what the bomb looks like, what it does before it blows, and how it works, but we can't find out what the disarming code is."

"We did find out that the bomb has a name. You would expect something as cool as semtex or as simple as C4 but he actually named it Bella."

"Bella? That's a name though."

"I think it's time Rocky confronted this guy," Radar crossed his arms.

"No, not yet," Ryder shook his head, "Rocky how many are left down there?"

"Five more, including me and the guy. He and I are definitely going to be last. He won't go up."

"Alright, just wait for it then. What does the bomb have?"

"Half an hour. That's including the nitrogen treatment."

"Okay, it's almost time to get up, Rocky."

"No, I can do this," Rocky argued, "Just let me keep at it."

"Rocky, we have to get you up here. As soon as those three are up your next."

"Negative, boss," Rocky replied.

"Rocky that's an order!" Ryder scolded.

"Negative," Rocky fought as he began to operate on the bomb more.

"Rocky!"

There was no reply. Rocky must have disabled him com.

"Damn it!" Ryder cursed to himself and looked at his team.

There had to be something he could do to fix this. There had to be a way. But what?

X

Rocky stared at the number pad and rubbed his face. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. The minutes went by and the second person was being brought up. Fifteen minutes were left. He stared at the bomb and planned carefully. He couldn't just give up. He turned his head to Adalard. He tried comforting the last civilian promising he would be alright, that the bomb wouldn't blow with him here. Rocky sighed. He had no choice; he had to confront him. Rocky closed his eyes. He had a plan, but he had to do it right. But even then, he had a chance that it wouldn't work. The last one was going up. Rocky sucked in air and initiated his plan.

"That's very brave of you. To sacrifice your turns like that. You had every chance to get out of here and you didn't. Why? How is it that you're not afraid of that?"

"Well…how aren't you?"

Rocky shrugged, "A fair question. I'm afraid in one case but… with a bomb like this? No pain. No suffering. It's going to be over in just a few short seconds. Heh, a whole lot better than being up there. They don't know when the bomb will go off and the blast might be just enough to cave in and kill every soul. Yeah, I'm fine. But, at least you can go up and let them know they might as well leave. I've got to at least try to disarm this thing."

Adalard shook his head, "No, I'll stay, you can go."

Rocky inwardly smirked, "That's very kind of you, but I can't. Protocol says I can't put my safety above yours. The harness is coming you'd better get ready."

"No, I'm fine, go on."

"Adalard," Rocky slipped; he cursed himself and shook his head, "I know you're the one who planted the bombs. But listen, if your so worried about the life of innocent people why bombs? Why do this?"

Adarlard began to cry and sat against the cement walls. Rocky leaned next to him and waited.

"My… life… They destroyed my entire life," He sobbed, "I worked here; I lived here. This was my only life. And they destroyed it. I worked on the Bella for as long as I could remember. And I finally was succeeding. And they fired me. They called me a terrorist and said I was crazy. I couldn't find any other job or life and they destroyed my projects. Everything was gone. But I saved it; I kept it from them. Now, I can pay them back for everything they took from me."

Rocky nodded in understanding and summed it up, "So, this is revenge then. Yeah, we figured that much. I'm…sorry for everything that happened to you."

The harness reached the floor. Rocky grabbed it and waved him over.

"Come on, you've got to go."

"There's no point. I don't' have a life to go back to… Not without my sister...Not after they took her too."

"What do you mean?" Rocky asked.

"My bomb was a joint project. My sister helped me make it. One of the heads had come down to see our progress. Before I could stop them they let the bomb go off with my sister inside… and they blamed me for it."

Rocky sighed, understanding why he did this. In a way, he was justified in is action. There was no way anyone would believe him either."

"What was her name?"

He turned and stared at the bomb. He almost melancholic.

"Her name was Bella."

Rocky nodded and his eyes widened, "That's it!"

He turned his comes on and said, "Boss, I know what the code is. It's Bella!"

"How? There's no letters on that thing Rocky and there's only a five digit number," Ryder said.

"Please, you have to tell me what the code is properly put in. 'B' right? So, what does a b look like…uh… six!"

"Wait, please," Adalard begged.

"Adalard, you got to help me, people are going to die and we only have. What's the next? 'E'? That's… three!"

Adalard tried to stop him but Rocky persisted, asking him to help him. Finally, Adalard gave in.

"What are the next? One one, and…"

"Four, the last one is four."

"Four, got it!"

The bomb opened and both of them began to work carefully on the bomb. The timer kept counting.

"Ten…"

Adalard lifted the cap keeping the bomb from moving too much. Rocky helped him since it was a bit heavy.

"Nine…"

The looked around the wires and found what they were looking for. Adalard carefully unplugged the wires in the right order as to keep the bomb from triggering.

"Eight…"

Rocky tore the bomb out carfully. Adarlard kneeled beside him.

"That's the bomb," He pointed.

"That's smaller than I thought…Five!"

The counted out loud as they finally got their hands on the bomb. Rocky slowly lift the tube of explosive chemical and finally got it free.

"One!"

He lifted his hands to throw the tube, but the detonation, though small, triggered close to his hands. He cried out as he felt a few lays of his skin burn off. He looked at them. They were practically a bleeding mess. The pain was unbearable.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" Adalard tried to help him.

"Belt! Belt… get the water canister out of my belt," He shouted.

Adalard obeyed and began flushing his hands. Rocky sighed in relief. His hands couldn't stop shaking. He groaned trying to refuse the temptation to clench them. This was probably going to end his carrier.

X

Marshall returned to the site and looked for Maria, first thing. While he looked around she approached him from behind.

"Marshall."

He turned around finding her in a stretcher. He widened his eyes and began to approach her.

"Look, I know, I should have told you that I was here. I know I probably should have told you everything. It's just…I have a new job now, and I wasn't allowed to tell you. I'm sorry…"

Marshall hugged her and exhaled a choppy breath. She sniffed and hugged him back.

Marshall looked at the paramedic and asked, "Just a few minutes?"

"Of course sir."

"Listen, I want to tell you why I'm here. I don't care about this job anymore. It's not worth this much."

"You don't have to," Marshall shook his head, "We both have secrets. Don't worry about it."

"No, I want to tell you," She stopped him, "You deserve to know. This has everything to do about you. You and your team."

Marshall was quickly takin in. He gave her his undivided attention and she began to explain.

"I don't really know how I was able to hide this from you, but I got my Ph. D in computer science and I caught their attention. I was stationed here for some sort of… device. I'm not sure what it's for but they mentioned your team. You're most likely going to be used as the lab mice. I tried to find out what all it's for, but I couldn't. They made me keep my mouth as shut as an airlock. Even my job wasn't supposed to exist. Bentley knows about my job since he lives with me but they wouldn't let me tell anyone beyond him."

"I understand, Maria, don't worry about it," Marshall gave her head a kiss and went to motion the paramedic but she caught his arm.

"Marshall, there's something else. They mentioned some strange operation. A protocol. A few people, including your CEO was arguing about its legal stature. They called it… uh…. PAW Patrol."

"PAW Patrol?" Marshall echoed quietly, "What is that?"

"I don't know," She shook her head, "But I know enough about it that the American people would riot across the nation if they heard about it. It completely steps out of the boundaries of government's power. Don't tell anyone accept your team. They have a right to know."

"Thanks Maria," He kissed her forehead again and waved over the paramedic, "Love you."

"Love you too," She said and hugged him one last time.

Marshall watched her get loaded into the A.L.S Ambulance. He sighed and thought about the name: PAW Patrol.

He shook his head and chuckled to himself, "Sounds like a kids show about dogs."

X

Radar finished his report and exited his van. He stretched himself and exhaled. Ryder approached him.

"Ah, here you are, boss. Today's report about this mess."

"Thanks, Radar," Ryder took the thumb-drive, "Rocky doing okay do you think?"

"I don't know, his hands look pretty bad," Radar replied, "I just hope he isn't going to get the sac."

"Injury like that just might get him there," Ryder sighed.

Marshall had just got to treating Rocky. A paramedic eventually took over and got him on a stretcher. His hands looked pretty messed up.

"I haven't seen a wound like that since Iran," Ryder stared.

Radar shook his head and stepped into his truck. Before closing the door he asked something.

"We aloud to head out?"

"Yeah. Alpha! Let's roll out!" Ryder called.

After the shift ended, Kaiser, Rubble, Zuma, and Radar had visited Rocky and assured he was okay. He wasn't going to attend the Service for a while though. When Rosita got the news she was rather upset. Marshall had to deal with that. Everest had decided to stay in the car. Meanwhile, Chase and Skye had met up at her house. It started becoming routinely that they would meet there. Chase had tried as hard as he could not to stay. However, Skye was pretty renowned for her… persuasive techniques.

Chase lay on the couch watching the T.V; Skye, again, lying on his chest. The moment was pretty quiet until Skye asked a question burning in her mind.

"Chase, what do we do?"

"What do you mean?"

"When everyone find out? What do we do?"

Chase sighed and rubbed his forehead, "I was thinking about that all afternoon. I don't know what we're going to do, Skye. I just…"

Chase was silent trying to think about options. When he couldn't think about anything, Skye interrupted his thought to tell him he didn't have to worry. She then snuggled up to him and continued to watch their show.

"I love you," She also added.

Chase kissed her forehead and whispered, "I love you too, Miss Heffron."

Though Skye let it go; Chase kept thinking about it. He had joined Alpha Squad long before she did and the team felt like family. He wasn't ready to part with them. But he didn't want Skye to have to go either. He certainly wasn't going to dump her. He had to admit, though, he had thought about it. Now, it was out of the question. He took a deep breath and rubbed his forehead.

"You okay?" Skye asked noticing his stress.

Chase replied, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Skye rest her head on his chest again. They were both quiet the only sound in the room being the T.V. Skye gripped Chase making him look down at her. She must have sensed it was troubling him.

"Everything's going to be okay. We'll find a way. There's always a way."

"Not to be an antagonist, but what makes you think we can be together and stay on the same team? They'll find out eventually."

"Because we're on the team, Chase. You, me, we're a part of the P.A.W.S, and we always find a way. Actually, we always find a solution. Even if it's the wrong one."

Chase grinned, "I taught you well."

"Well, actually, I ow that one to Marshall. Him and his elder brother instincts if you get my meaning."

"A little," Chase shrugged, "He wasn't so tough in high school."

Skye smiled at him and gave him a glare, "I'm telling him you said that."

"Fine, herald it if you got to, I'm not ashamed of the truth," He grinned.

"Oh, you are asking for the horns, mister," She got up and crossed her arms.

"Truth hurts," He sighed, playing with her.

"I'm telling Marshall everything. You're going to get it. Just watch, the next time you get hit he won't be coming over the horizon for you," Skye giggled.

She got up to get something to drink. Chase laughed for a second but slowly turned melancholy.

"I wouldn't go that far, Marshall's instincts rule half of his brain. He can't ignore the words 'medic' or 'help me'. It's too painful for him. That's the great thing about Marshall. He can't ignore someone who's hurt. In high school, he took E.M.T classes. So, he wasn't tough, but he didn't need to be. He was pretty popular with the elementary. Always listened to their hart or took their blood pressure then encourage them to exercise and congratulated them for when they were. Sometimes he'd bring abnormal sounds and pressures to the nurse or parent's attention. Everyone liked him and his caring nature. I think he got asked on a few dates once."

"And he didn't take them?"

"No, like me, he was pretty philosophical at the time. Nowadays we ignore philosophy and trust in our guts. You could pretty much live without philosophy. That's what the army taught us."

Skye giggled, "That sounds like the two of you. Did Marshall ever like anyone other than Everest?"

"No, not to my knowledge, anyway. He's not one to break rules either, so when I figured out him and Everest were a thing, I was rather surprised. He told me that they met before, during the time we were Ranger. That was an interesting conversation."

"I wonder how they plan on telling the group," Skye pondered.

"Actually, Marshall's already planning it. I don't approve of it, but it might be his best g, knowing him. He doesn't like damaging trust relationships. He's been rather sensitive about relationships since he went M.I.A in Syria."

"So what's his plan?" Skye asked.

"He's been thinking about going to be a firefighter paramedic. He has the skill set and the training."

"That doesn't really… befit him," Skye scratched her head.

"I know, I told him the same thing. 'You've been a soldier for the longest time, it would be a shame to drop it,' I told him. He shrugged it off and changed the subject. He's really bent on staying with Everest."

"How about you?"

"Eh?"

Skye rolled her eyes, "Are you bent on staying with me?"

"You know I am," Chase replied quickly, "…Alright, confession time, I had another conversation with him and we are both considering leaving."

"That is a terrible plan if you need my opinion," She crossed her arms.

"That's why I didn't ask," Chase muttered.

Chase and Skye were silent. Neither could advance the conversation forward. So, Skye clapped her hands together and changed it.

"I'm going to make some decaf. Want any?"

Chase shrugged, "Can't say no."

"Alright," She said and left to her.

Chase remained on the couch, the Television episode just now ending. He stared at the credits and the T.V's narrator telling him what would be playing next, and what date and time not to miss for some military drama that shouldn't even be a thing. He hated those dramas. They weren't even militarily accurate half the time. He had been in some of the battles they had covered. It wasn't even half the terror they said it was. If anything, the battle was dreadfully boring. Of course, being a sniper, he could say that. To the guys on the ground it was probably hell. Or they thought it was. The battle didn't look like much. As a matter of fact, the jobs he did now, were far more tense than being on the battlefield.

X X X X

Sorry for taking so long on this one, it just wouldn't turn out. And the plot was getting complicated. I had to make sure it didn't...give too much away. Anyway, next chapter, per requested, will be centered on Marshall and Everest. If you want something like this you just have to say so. After chapter ten, I have only one chapter that can fill up the pot holes to twenty, which is the hope for me to reach. So, basically, I need help. Thanks guys.


	8. Chapter 8: Sierra Mike Foxtrot

Marshall was at the door. Chase was shuffled down the flights of stairs as fast as he could. The waiting, the agenizing waiting, it was killing him. Marshall gripped the ram in his hands and stared at the door. He couldn't take knowing that it was just one thrust away and he and ten other guys would be caught in a firefight. He could die, and she could too. But she was screaming, trying to keep them away. Marshall was being tormented by those screams. His M4 was loaded and locked and he knew he had the aim for this. But he knew Ryder told him to stand down till Chase got there. Chase was too far.

"No… no more please!" Everest begged; then a cry came, "Marshall!"

He couldn't take it anymore. He lifted the ram and stretched his neck.

"I'm going in," He informed.

"What? No! Marshall! You'll get chewed up in there!" Zuma shouted.

"Marshall! Stand down!" Ryder ordered.

"We don't have time to stand down!" Marshall shot back.

He retracted and took a deep breath. He could hear everyone screaming on the com at him. Everything seemed to stop as he pulled. His memory flashed before him. Everything leading up to this moment. He did this once before. They told him to stop too.

X X X

 **Three years before present day/ January 30th, 2014/ 20:15 hours**

Marshall was waiting at a door and on the other side was the wife of his friend. Razib was trying to get to their location but there were too many hostiles between them.

"I'm going in!" Marshall shouted.

"No, Marshall, you'll get killed, my friend!"

"They're going to kill her!" He replied, "I'm not letting that happen!"

He locked his AK-47 and broke down the door. On the other side was ten terrorists, one with a machete about to cut Razib's wife down. Two guarding the door, who ho took out quickly, three taking cover, two aiming at him, and two others running for their Ak-74us. He took aim and killed the one with the machete right after the two guards. He started moving to cover as he killed the one running for their weapons. He got hit when he realized there was an eleventh up in in the distance with a Dragunov. He took cover to get out of sight of the sniper. He peaked and killed the two aiming at him. One tried to use the wife as leverage but he aimed well enough to get him in the head. The last two stayed in cover and the sniper nearly hit Marshal again. Marshall noticed a mirror behind him so he could get a spot on the sniper. As soon as he got an exact spotting he jumped out and shot a single bullet into the sniper's head. The last two ran out and shot at him. Three bullets knocked him to the floor. They slowly approached him but were surprised by him suddenly waking up and fan firing his revolver. Both fell dead and his could take time to catch his breath.

"You okay?" He asked in Arabic.

She cried and he approached and untied her. Razib and three of his comrades rushed into the room and found the two.

"Michal!" Razib cried.

She ran into his arms and cried tears of joy. The three comrade, Alim , Bari, and Abdul, helped Marshall up. He was fortunate to be wearing any armor.

"Are you alright, my friend?" Asked Adbul.

"Yeah, I'm okay," He coughed.

"Thank you," Razib embraced him, "Thanks you."

X X X

 **One day before present day/ November 31** **st** **, 2017/ 21:03**

Marshall and Everest were walking around Adventure Bay's parks. It was frosted over and snow was threatening to come down, but that didn't bother them. They actually liked to bundle up and walk around outside. Especially Everest, Marshall followed her since they wanted to spend some time together.

"So, what do you want to do for our upcoming vacation?" Everest asked.

Marshall inhaled deeply and held his air for a few seconds. He let it out and shrugged. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do. He and Chase were talking about it as well, but he didn't even know then. Seemed like he didn't know now either.

"I have no idea. What are your plans?"

"Nothing. Oh! Actually, Skye and I are talking about dragging you boys all the way to Paris."

"Paris? Really?" Marshall asked.

"London is barganable," Everest smiled.

"London?" Marshall chuckled, "Everest, Europe in general is a wild idea."

Everest giggled, "Well, how long has it been since you had a proper vacation?"

Marshall raised his eyebrows and whistled, "Long time. Uh…"

He thought back. He was in the military for most of the time he was around. There was barely any vacation time then. He had only been out of the military for a year. During that time, he didn't travel anywhere. He just settled in Adventure Bay. His last vacation he could recall, or at least one where he traveled for leisure, was when he was little. Ten years maybe twelve.

"Long time ago," He finally answered, "I don't even remember."

"Exactly, so, we need to go to Europe," She grinned.

"Can't we go to some resort instead? That would be better, I think."

"Your right. A resort would be better than a hotel. I'll bring that idea to Skye. Europe probably has some awesome places."

"For the love of Pete, Everest, I don't have this kind of money to spend," Marshall sighed.

"Well, I do, so there," Everest grinned.

"I thought you wanted to get a car," Marshall crossed his arms.

"I changed my mind. I can always save up again."

"How are you getting all of this money? You don't have enough time to work another job… Do you?"

"Pft, no, but… well, my family helped me out. They left me quite a lot," Everest explained, "As bad as they were at the mom and dad thing, they did a few things right."

Marshall chuckled, "It seems almost every one of us had issues with the family."

"Only reason I joined the army," Everest shrugged, "Wait, what about Chase? He had a pretty good relationship with his family, didn't he?"

"Yeah, he joined because of a sense of duty. I just followed him," Marshall nodded in confirmation.

Everest giggled, "Pretty loyal friend, weren't you?"

Marshall smiled and thought back at his past. He was pretty tall and built now but he started off as a rather weak kid with philosophy as a backbone and the wish to help people. But, if he wasn't at his EMT classes he was following Chief, his brother around. Chief was never a safe kid to be around but Marshall felt safe around him. He depended on him. He never disobeyed his older brother unless it meant harm to Maria, their little sister. It only happened once, when she broke his shelf in his room and toppled all of his stuff into a broken mess. Marshall took a beating for her before his parents came back and settled the situation. But, if he wasn't following Chief around, he was following Chase. Marshall Looked to him as an older brother.

"Well, you could say that. Chase was the older brother I had when Chief wouldn't be. I followed them around as close as I could and only parted when Chief called me over. Then I'd follow him around. I wasn't a very strong and independent kid."

Everest giggled again and leaned into him, "It's interesting, you know."

"What is?" He asked looking down at her.

"How close you were able to be with Chase. You two have practically been there for each other every minute of your life. You guys are still together, working on the same team. It's… like fate. You two are more than just brothers, I think."

"What are you suggesting?" Marshall laughed.

"Not in that way," Everest laughed with him, "I mean… well, I forgot what I mean. But you two have a bond that I wish I had with my friends and family. Have you ever been separated other than school?"

Marshall was silent but she waited for an answer. When she looked up at him he was giving her that look. The I –already-told -you, one. She caught on shortly after.

"Right, Syria. M.I.A. I remember," She pointed.

"There you go. Yeah, that was the last year of our service before I went to paramedic school and he became an officer. We were separated then too. But we both got the letter at the same time and here we are."

"Yup, here you are," She laughed with him, "You just can't stay away from each other."

"Just like I can't seem to stay away from you," He kissed her head, "Five years and we still find each other. Well, you found me."

"That is still the most shocking day of my life. All this time and I thought Staff Sergeant Benton was dead. Ol' Doc Benton. Just can't kill him."

"Seems like it," Marshall chuckled, "What about you, Husky?"

"I forgot about that name. But, speaking of which, I'm wondering what's going on around there. Do-Right and Strat always seemed to get into trouble without me."

"Did I meet them?"

"Yeah, and you made a neutral impression. It's hard to say you had me in your good hands when you're patting a big hole on my shoulder."

"And putting a blindfold on you," He jested with a blush.

"Actually, I think I was in terrific hands at that time."

"I was drunk and you were wounded. How could you feel in 'terrific hands' when you have those factors added up with a blindfold."

"Well, if you want to know what you _did_. You might understand."

"I can live without knowing," Marshall replied quickly.

Everest laughed at him again. She kissed his neck and kept close to him.

"So, ready to go back?" He asked.

"Yeah, sure, I could use some coco," She sighed.

"Heh, me too, let's go," He agreed.

They started down the sidewalk leading out of the park and to Everest's apartment. They didn't notice anyone following them.

"I got eyes on 'em," the stalker said to a walky-talky, "Yeah, there headed out of the park… got it."

He waved his hand and three others stopped their camouflage and dispersed. He continued to follow the couple at a distance. Marshall and Everest were enjoying each other's company too much to realize they were in danger. It was when one of the four followers had blocked their path with a 9mm that they got a clue.

"Good evening," Said the gunman, "Am I interrupting something?"

"Whoa now, let's not be hasty," Marshall put up his hands in a calming manor.

His hand canon was behind him under has jacket. He would have to fast draw in order to get a shot off. But, he wanted to avoid that.

"I suggest you stay back," The gunman said calmly, "We don't have any quarrel with you."

"Pardon?" He asked.

"Miss Winters, we've been looking for you."

"Excuse me?" Everest squinted.

They heard a click behind them and turned. Another gunman approached. Marshall knew there wasn't a way out of this one. He put his hands up and tried to talk them out of whatever they were doing. The first one checked him and took his revolver out from behind him. Everest was slowly being nudged towards the road. They winked at each other and acted as soon as one of them made an opening. Marshall grabbed his revolver and used it as a hammer of the first. Everest kicked the gun out of the second's hand. For common criminals, they were well trained. The fight didn't exactly last long or favorable when Marshall was shot. He toppled over and covered his abdomen. He lifted to find it was a rubber bullet that struck him. A truck came and grabbed Everest from behind.

"Everest!"

A chemical was forced up her nostrils via a cloth and instantly lost consciousness. Marshall found his revolver close bye and grabbed it. As the car took off he fan-fired the revolver getting the back a few times and being force dot take cover when a submachine gun went off at him. He watched the car take a turn and took off after it. The car was fast but the traffic gave him time. He applied his skills he learned from the Syrian rebels which helped him move fast and ignore discomforts such as the large buries form his shot. He reloaded his revolver and tried to shoot again but there were too many civilians. He was lucky to have as much stamina as he did. A submachine gun went off at him and hit a few civilians. He wanted to stop and help them but he couldn't just abandon Everest. He called 911 and alerted them of the situation. In the meantime he kept the chase going. He was beginning to run out of breath. Finally, he felt a sting go up his leg and realized a real bullet him this time. It grazed him at the shin area. The car was getting away.

"No, damn it!" He got up and began running again.

The pain was somewhat prohibiting him and knew he had to stop. He studied the license plate and clenched his fists.

"I will find you. And you will pay."

X

 **Present day/ December 1** **st** **, 2017/ 12:51**

Marshall was still pulled back. He listened to his breath, to the screaming in his coms, to the echo of chase's boots hitting the metal stairs not too far away. His grip was fixed sturdily on the ram. He was ready to grab his gun as soon as the door broke. He listened to the sounds of Everest screaming for help. They had no idea they were there; they had no clue he was about to come right through their door. He could also hear the screaming of other woman. They had more than just Everest in there. He would have to watch his fire. He bit his lip and gripped the ram harder as he began his thrust. The sound of the doors cracking filled the room and caught everyone's attention. Memories flashed through his mind. Getting here was a struggle. Now was the chance to figure out if he screwed it up or took advantage of it.

X

 **Twelve hours before present/ December 1** **st** **, 2017/ 0:34**

"Marshall, you're sure it was this way?" Asked Ryder.

"Yeah, I studied each street they took. Each goddamn turn they made before they nipped me. I can't belive I let this happen."

"Hey, calm down, brother," Chase put a hand on his back.

"Listen, Marshall, it's going to be okay," Skye assured, "The team is on its way. Rocky won't be able to come for obvious reasons but we can figure this out together."

"She's everyone's teammate, Marshall," Ryder added, "Don't forget that. But what we're doing that you found this out."

"Jogging, it happens to be that, she takes a similar route. We met at the park. We were taking the sidewalk back to my apartment when we got attacked. They have rubber bullets."

"Why would the use rubber bullets?" Chase asked.

"Trying to avoid messes," Ryder answered, "These guys are smart. They're covering the corners if they get caught."

"They should plan on it," Marshall groaned getting up from the bench, "I'm not letting them get away with this."

The pain of the stress he put on the leg was starting to catch up. He had to sit back down.

"No, _we_ aren't letting them get away with this. This isn't your fault, Marshall," Skye put a hand on his shoulder, "In fact, if it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't have a lead to find Everest. She has a chance because of you."

"She's right, Marshall. So…," Ryder held out his hand, "Let's teach these bastards what it means to mess with Alpha, eh?"

Marshall looked at the hand and grabbed it. Ryder pulled him up, and Chase pat his back.

"Hell yes, sir."

The team assembled at the HQ and the situation was presented by Chase. Ryder had phoned the CEO about the situation.

"So, a teammate's been taken then," Said President Snow.

"Yes sir, Everest Winters," Ryder replied, "I'm requesting for a manhunt. I'm requesting a change in protocol. Specifically, Ra…"

"Captain! Not over the phone. As much as I want to, I cannot allow you to use that protocol. She isn't a V.I.P. They wouldn't give me clearance."

"How about…," Ryder was waiting for him to stop him again but it seemed the President was willing to hear him out, "Sir, what if I were to initiate Sierra-Mike-Foxtrot protocol."

The president thought it over. The phone was silent. Ryder could hear some pages flipping on his side.

"Yes, I think that'll do. I will initiate S.M.F protocol and entrust that you and your team will make proper judgment on kill shots."

"We will, sir," Ryder nodded.

"Good," Then the phone clicked.

Ryder exhaled and clapped his hands, "Listen up! I have requested S.M.F protocol and we're going through with it! Radar, how's the number?"

"Golden, I've got a location; it belongs to the same model care Doc found."

"Good, Chase, they've been filled in?"

"Yes sir," Chase nodded.

"Alright, here's the deal, we've been given permission to use deadly force. Assault rifles have been issued."

"Assault rifles? Damn, that bad?" Rubble asked.

"That's right," Ryder replied, "We have a force that is well funded and seems to be a good aim. Marshall, can you make it through with this?"

"Yes sir," Marshall replied, "It's just a nip. I can do it."

"I'll keep an eye on him, sir," Chase assured.

"Fine, Radar, map?"

"Right here boss," Radar pulled up the map on a screen.

"Alright here's the plan, we won't be able to drill it so we have to study this. Here's the plan…"

X

 **Eleven hours before present/ December 1** **st** **, 2017/ 1:22**

Everest felt sick in her stomach and extremely drowsy. Nausea was beginning to follow. She wanted to vomit but something was stopping her. She didn't know how long she was out, but she knew she wasn't in the city anymore. The van came to a stop and some men were talking. They pulled her out and began dragging her to a warehouse. Pine trees, cold air, and inclined terrain. She knew she was up north, but where?

"Nice catch," A guard grinned at her, "Do I get a turn?"

"Fuck off, Gill," laughed one of her carriers, "This one is special. Head master only."

"Damn, I was looking forward to this one," Gill chuckled.

"Just stay on duty," The second one dragging her ordered.

When she got inside there were a whole bunch of men in hardware and armed. Most wore ski masks. She was taken to an old factory elevator where she was thrown down carelessly. One of them pat the elevator and closed the doors. She tried to get up, but she felt too weak. The elevator sunk. She felt like she was being dragged down to hell, or even an abyss. When she stopped, at the bottom floor, she was taken by two others and dragged into a room full of moaning. She didn't want to look anywhere. She tried to keep her eyes sealed tight but an ecstatic scream caught her attention and she saw what she dreaded. A woman, stripped bare and a man hunched over her. She was sprawled out, completely open to him, and bounded by the wrists. Against, Everest's will, she started looking everywhere. Women were being forced to do so many things she only had nightmares about. At last, the suffering was about over when she was thrown into a cell full of women, huddled together for warmth. Everest then noticed the cool air. She felt around her area for bearings. It was all metal, there wasn't a thing to keep them warm and the darkness returned as the door was shut on them again. The women whimpered when she was tossed inside.

"You poor things," One of them said to her and pulled her close, "I'm so sorry."

Everest, still a bit drugged asked, "What's…going on?"

"You were abducted," She explained, "Don't worry, the effects of the drug should wear off soon."

"It's cold," Everest said, not meaning to whine.

She wanted to show she was strong but she couldn't. A nightmare was becoming a reality, she was practically stripped bare. She was left only in her jeans and tank top. Everything else, including her boots, we're removed. The others were about the same things, some more bear than others.

"Why are they doing this?" Everest asked.

The woman sighed. Everest could practically hear the sympathetic smile she was giving her.

"No one knows, honey. They're just bad men with wicked intentions."

Everest sounded as if she was crying but she was actually giggling. The way the woman said that. It sounded like it was rehearsed just for that one moment. For every girl that came in, every woman. It almost sounded as if it evolved over time.

"I'm Destiny, who are you?"

Everest didn't want to say. She was too weak, too cold to answer… no… no she wasn't. She wasn't to give up and let them have her. Marshall was looking for her, and she wasn't going to let him find her without showing she at least tried to be who she was: a soldier. Everest fought the drug and began to stand up. She couldn't see it but destiny was surprised. She must have understood the drug too well. It hadn't worn off yet, and she knew it. By the time Everest got up she stretched her neck and gripped onto Destiny before she fell.

"My name… is Cpl. Everest Winters, PAWS operator. I'm here to help."

"How?" Asked one of the girls.

Everest grinned and replied, "By doing what my team and I do best: find the solution."

X

 **Present time/ December 1** **st** **, 2017/ 12:42**

That was hours ago and she did. It was only a matter of time to figure out whether or not it was the right one. Everest breathed heavily, trying not to show any fear. A ball-gag was taken out of her mouth. She could hear the ringing of a belt buckle in someone's hand but she couldn't see. She was blindfolded and her hands were hung above her head.

"This is a lesson to you who think you can go around doing whatever you want. You all had only one rule. And this girl…broke it. Now she's going to pay the price," Said a man in a white suite.

He snapped the belt and motioned to men at her. Everest felt a flip knife nip her a few times as it cut through her tank top. It exposed her whole upper body to everyone. The knife then went to her jeans. Her panties were stripped from her too. He snapped the belt again and this time swung it at her with all his might. She felt the terrible strike against her skin as if it were a whip ripping off her flesh. He repeated this a few times slowly. She started to scream and cry as he got faster. The woman tried to turn but a man would grab their hair and force them to watch. Everest proved to be the strongest woman there, stronger than even Destiny, who was there the longest. She flinched and shifted, trying to get away from the strikes. Her back felt as if they were lighting on fire. Red welts were beginning to form.

Finally, she couldn't take it anymore and screamed out something, anything, this first name she could, "No… No more, please! Marshall!"

The men started to laugh. The woman cried silently to themselves and each other. The punishment continued. Everest cried again and finally it stopped. She felt an evil presents behind her. And a bone-chilling whisper came

"He's not coming for you; he'll never come for you. He won't find you, he won't see you ever again. You're living here… for the rest of your life."

Everest began to weep. She gripped onto the chains that hung her. A crake from the belt made her flinch. Each crack did. He smiled at the sight. Suddenly, a different sound came from behind her. It wasn't a crack or a laugh, no whisper or cry. It was a breaking sound. One she knew too well. One that sounded like heaven to her followed by her favorite sound of all.

"P.A.W.S, everyone get down!"

Everest smiled and cried under her blindfold, "Marshall…"

X

 **Six hours before present/ December 1** **st** **, 2017/ 06:20**

The location was approached slowly and quietly. They stopped at a distance and dismounted the cars.

"Alright, Chase, you can see here pretty well?"

"Yeah, but I don't think I should be sniper this time," Chase replied turning his head towards Marshall who was lading his M4 carbine, harshly.

"Affirmative, I'll take care of it," Ryder nodded, "Radar, how much time before sun comes up?"

"Two hours and twenty minutes," Radar replied.

"Alright, let's keep it quiet and get in there. Chase, take point, I'm shooter today," Ryder ordered.

"Yes sir," Chase nodded, "Let's go, everyone."

"Radar, eyes in the sky," Ryder pointed at his van.

"With pleasure," Radar nodded.

Ryder cocked the Remington 700 and fixed his night vision scope. He took a deep breath and aimed at the warehouse. There weren't very many guards outside. They were up for a surprise.

"Threats confirmed," Ryder nodded, "Shoot to kill."

"Roger that," Chase replied, "We should be showing up on the main road soon. Do you see us?"

"Affirmative, I have eyes on you and the road," Ryder replied.

"Boss, there's trucks coming out of the warehouse," Radar warned.

He kept eyes on their path and watched carefully. He looked ahead of their path and found two trucks coming their way.

"I see them. You guys have two trucks ahead of you dig in and stay out of sight," Ryder warned.

"Do we have time for spikes?" Rocky asked.

"Just enough but do it quick. If you're going to take them out do it quietly," Radar advised.

Rocky motioned at his pack to Rubble. He got behind him and took out the item he was talking about. They quickly stretched out the chain of spikes and dug into the snow. The trucks came by and stated to spin off of the street. The team waited for the men to get back onto the road to investigate the issue. Chase gave Marshall, Zuma, Rubble, and Kaiser targets to shoot and ordered Skye to watch their backs.

"Steady," Chase ordered, "steady… do it."

They opened fire and took out the men before they could recover or call for help. After they were gone they reloaded and continued.

"Nice takes, team. Your almost up there now," Radar said clicking his at his keyboard.

X

Everest kept her eyes closed and waited for the sound she was looking for. Finally, she heard it. The sounds of a whimpering girl being dragged over. Everest ran to where they were loudest and felt around the container for the doors and wall. Finally she found what she was looking for and waited. Two men opened the container and one threw the girl in. Every woman whimpered as the light hurt their eyes. Everest sat down quickly and let her eyes adjust to the light. When they finally did she watched the men pick out a girl and waited. The man approached and Everest leaped into action. She quickly grabbed his gun and twisted his wrist, turning him into a human riot shield and shooting at the two men.

"Stay here," She instructed the screaming girls.

She shot the man she was holding into the arms and forced him forward. Two other men came to investigate the situation and were shot on the spot. One of them shot back and killed her human shield. She dropped the body and continued systematically.

"Wait for me," Destiny shouted.

"No, Destiny, stay here," Everest protested.

"I can help, I know now how to use their transmission systems. We can call for help."

"Stay behind me," Everest instructed.

Everest equipped a vest and a holster and harvest what she could. She gave Destiny a firearm.

"Use this only if you have to."

She nodded in response. Everest heard more men coming. She grinned, this was just like the simulation back in White Hannibal. She waited and popped out as soon as she heard them come close enough. They dropped like flies. She continued as methodically as she was trained and made sure to check each corridor for stragglers. Some of them had men hiding behind the beds of the woman they were raping. She didn't spare anyone.

Destiny followed close and pointed at a room with a tug, "There! that's it!"

Everest nodded and approached the room slowly. A man jumped out with a knife and disarmed her. She was forced to the wall by the throat but was able to stop the knife. Destiny squealed and fired the gun the man grunted getting his in the side. Everest got the knife and forced it into his skull. Oddly, Destiny wasn't shaken by the whole thing.

"Thank you, Destiny," Everest said getting her breath, "Alright, get on there and see if you can get a hold of any help. I don't know where we are so were going to have to hope they can trace us."

Destiny nodded and replied, "Yeah, okay."

She put the pistol down and got to work on the radios and equipment. Everest watched her work and admired her skill. She worked quickly, with precision. It was as if she did this before.

"Have you done this before?" Everest asked.

"A few times. I was forced to work here. I eventually got used to it."

"How long have you been here?" Everest asked.

"I don't know," She shook her head, "I don't even know what year this is."

Everest examined Destiny seeing many scars on her body. Everest couldn't help but feel sorry for her and every girl that was there. The radio finally worked but the some of the equipment couldn't.

"I won't be able to communicate to anyone through the microphone. It doesn't work," Destiny sighed.

"Can you get some noise through?" Everest asked.

"Sort of, yeah maybe a tap. Why?"

"I know Morse code, and I know someone who understands it."

X

The team got closer to the warehouse where it was in sight. Chase motioned to his team and they picked up a different formation.

"Alright let's do this. Marshall take, the back. We want to go in quietly. Got it?"

"Got it," Marshall replied.

Marshall took Skye and Kaiser to the back while Chase kept Zuma and Rubble. When Marshall reached his door he called Chase to notify their position.

"Alright, we'll enter from the top and get to the bottom. See you then," Chase said, "Ready everyone?"

"Hold up, I've got a transmission coming out of there," Radar stopped them.

They were silent, but Chase and his half of the team proceeded to get to the top of the building using repel ropes.

Radar was silent before exclaiming, "It's Everest she's trying to send an S.O.S! She's not alone."

"Roger that, team, were looking at hostage crisis here watch your fire," Ryder called.

"Copy that, Ryder," Chase said, "Marshall, proceed with caution, were going in, good luck."

"Copy that, Chase, were moving. Skye, the door," Marshall whispered.

"Copy that," Skye nodded.

Skye approached the door and put a key-like device inside the keyhole. She pushed a button and a few seconds later the red light on the side turned green. She turned the lock and opened the door. Kaiser went in first and looked left and right.

"Clear," he whispered.

Marshall and Skye followed and approached began their search, being careful to not alert any hostile force. Chase and his team did the same. Radar tried to get the rest of Everest's message when it suddenly stopped.

"Uh oh," He whispered under his breath, "Team, I think we have a problem. Everest stopped transmitting. She must have been caught."

"let's pick up the pace then," Marshall waived.

"No, keep slow," Chase warned, "We can't risk ourselves or she won't have a rescue. Steady, Marshall."

Marshall felt pressure build inside his chest. He wanted to just run around the building and find her. He knew what would get him killed. Worse so, his entire team. No, he would have to listen. And he did.

"Copy that, slow and steady wins the race," Marshall sighed.

"It's alright, Marshall, we'll get her before the worst of it," Rubble comforted.

"God, I hope you right," Marshall sighed.

He found a map of the entire wear house. They had six floors to cover. Didn't sound bad as a number, but as a methodical sweep that was a nightmare. Especially when you're looking for someone important to you.

X

Everest and Destiny were being dragged to another room. They weren't sure which but they knew it wasn't' going to be good. Everest was cursing herself all the way through. How could she of let her guard down? She cost Destiny and herself a lot of safety and that meant there destination was going to have some fatal consequence. After all, she killed several of their men. Everest was going to pay dearly. She could feel it in the grips of her captors. Their hands stretching her skin, and giving her the death grip. One of her arms felt like they would break with the amount of power they were putting into keeping her in check. Finally she was thrown down into the hard…wood floor?

Her blind was taken off and greeted with a terrible grin, "Hello there."

She glared at the man in a white suite, his teeth rotten and his breath tainted by tobacco and whatever else was there. She wanted to vomit just smelling it.

"Now, don't be so hostile, I wouldn't want to hurt you like you hurt some of my boys. That would be cruel," He stood up and removed the hood off of Destiny, "Ah, Destiny, my favorite slut. I thought you of all girls would learn not to break the rules."

He put a hand under her chin making her shrivel and shy. But suddenly she began to boil as he traced his hand across her skin and tried to bight his hand. He pulled away sighed.

"Fuck you, Josef!" She shouted.

Josef? That name was familiar to Everest but she could quite put her finger on it. He grinned a devilish grin and laughed and Destiny.

"Did you boys here that?" He asked, "She said, 'Fuck you , Josef!'"

His men laughed at that as well. Josef pointed at Destiny and pretended to compliment her before sucker-punching her. She coughed and toppled over and he stood over her.

"Is that really how you thank me for treating you so well? I treated you better than all the other girls; I didn't force you to do any of our… 'little activities'. You did them all by choice," He began to grin again.

Everest didn't need to know what he was referring to. With the shamed look that Destiny gave, she knew what he was talking about.

Josef groaned and whipped his nose, "Jesus, all you ungrateful sluts are tuckering me out!"

"We can deal with her boss," one of his men said.

"Oh, see now that's the attitude I really need. People like him make my life easier. Carry on after a meeting, my good friend. I'd like to speak to our…guest a little more privately," Josef knelt next to Everest.

Everest gave him a death glare. He laughed at her.

"Now that is one sulky-looking face. Don't worry, I'll wipe it right off of you. And you'll be looking at me in a far different way. Besides, since my old favorite Destiny insists to be an asshole for the rest of her life, I think I found my knew favorite. She's easy to replace anyway."

Everest would have spit on him if she didn't have a gag on. Instead, she used her head. He toppled over but the two guards stopped her before she could do anymore and drug her to a podium like platform and chained her hands above her head. They were strong. Even for her.

"Wow! She was some guts," He laughed getting up and covering his head, "And a thick skull too. No wonder she's so hard to get through."

He approached her from behind and put his arms around her waist. She began to struggle but to no avail. She wanted to do something to stop him from doing what he was about to probably do. It only seemed to bring him more pleasure. He brought his hands under her tank top and unclipped her bra. She felt herself beginning to shake, both because of his cold hands and fear. He suddenly pulled hard and took her bra out from under her tank top.

"Bingo! Did you see that? Smooth hands, I know. Didn't. Even. See. Me. _coming_ ," He turned around and grinned, "Did ya?"

She didn't answer which made him cross. He banged his desk and shouted it this time.

"Did you!"

She didn't answer still. She didn't flinch, she didn't whimper; she remained silent. If she could look at him, she would be glaring still. He laughed and shook his head.

"Okay, you know what? That's okay. There's always the other way," He sighed, "Go ahead and have fun boys. I need to talk with her alone."

"Yes sir," they replied before dragging Destiny out.

She began to whimper and beg. Everest closed her eyes and apologized to destiny for everything that was happening. She prayed to God that Marshall was coming. That he would be there.

There was uncomfortable silence before he spoke, "A black bra. Now that is sexy. What? Is black you favorite color, tough girl?"

Everest kept quiet and didn't reply. He laughed and dropped the bra on his desk.

"Come on now, I feel like I'm talking to a dead body here."

Still no replay. He sighed and shook his head.

"Alright, I guess I'll have to break the ice between us," He grinned.

Everest again felt his hand on her waist. He began to caress them before moving under again. Everest's breath picked up as his hands moved up to her breasts.

"Get your hands off of me!" She commanded.

He chuckled and harassed, "Oh, so the tough girl can talk. I gotta say this is a fine chest you got here. What are these C's?"

He leaned over and looked at the bra size and laughed, "Oh ho! D's! the big ol' D. I love that! I'm surprised you don't' have a boyfriend!"

He paused and leaned over, "You don't do you?"

She looked away. He chuckled.

"Oh ho, you do. I'm…I'm so sorry, I… I didn't know," He sighed in shame.

It sounded like that. He kept his hand on her breasts. She wished she could kick him right now but her feet were secured onto the floor.

"Ah well, the past is in the past," He sighed before stimulating her breasts more.

She accidently let a moan escape and cursed herself. Unfortunately, he heard hit.

"Heh, you like that, eh? Well now, how about this?"

Everest tried not to make a sound as she felt a pleasurable pain from her breasts. He laughed her struggling and nodded.

"Yup, you like that too," He grinned.

Everest wanted to cry, but she didn't let herself. She only dreamed that Marshal would touch her like this but this sick bastard was destroying it. Marshall only touched her like this once before. Everest felt a little better thinking back at those days, remembering as she had pulled Marshall into his tent to try to save him from disciplinary action. He somehow got drunk from drinking his water. Turned out it was spiked. From there things got heated.

X

"Everest… I feel funny," He said dizzily.

"Whoa, Marshall, are you okay?" She asked.

He drank some of his water and dropped it. She lifted her eyebrows and laughed at him.

"Marshall stop playing around, you're going to get in trouble."

"Oh boy," He said before falling into her arms.

"Oh crap!" She nearly shouted too loudly, "Come on, Marshall stop kidding."

He gagged and she then knew, "You weren't kidding were you?"

She started to lead him to his tent and helped brought his water with her. As soon as he was done hurling she gave him his water to wash out his mouth and get a drink. She didn't get the hint that the water was causing anything. She actually thought it was that flu patient passing on his virus.

"There you go, let's lay down," She looked around to make sure no one was looking and helped him into his tent.

He drank more "water" to try to feel better. And he drank more…and more… and eventually drank about eight bottles worth. Finally, Everest noticed he was getting worse. She sniffed the water and it smelled… funky. He wasn't lying when he said that earlier. She sipped it and could taste the faint bitter taste of a familiar drink she was given when she couldn't sleep at night. Her father would give it to her water down and she would be knocked out. Rum, a relatively heavy liquor. And he just drank six bottles of it watered down.

"Oh sh…"

"Everest, could you come here for a minute," He said in slurred speech.

"Marshall, um… you're not going to believe this…" She was cut short when Marshall kissed her roughly.

At first she was trying to pull away and help him get back to his old self but as rough as he was being she actually liked it. She started to adapt and even intensify along with him. He pulled away and grinned at her a rather laughable grin.

"You know… your really hot from this angle," He said with lazy eyes.

"Thank you," She smiled.

He began to remove her uniform's top until she was bare. She was surprised when he suddenly put a piece of cloth in front of her eyes and tied it.

"Uh, what are you… ah!"

She nearly screamed feeling him touch her. He began messaging her kissing her sensitive neck. She suppressed all she could from the noises she made. She moaned and he even started to kiss lower… and lower. He stopped at her chest and she hugged his head.

"M-Marshall… oh God that feels good," She whispered as best she could.

"I knew you would like that," He smiled with along pause.

She had to admit it: she wanted him to do this, "Are you…going to keep going?"

He smiled wider and continued. Her breath picked up as he went on. His kisses went to nibbles and back and traveled left and right. Finally he started going lower. She bit her lower lip in anticipation.

She was suddenly brought back to reality when she felt her pants loosen off her waist but not by Marshall, it was that cold hand again. She gasped as it slipped under them. It suddenly stopped when there was a bang through the door.

"Sir! The women! There going crazy!"

He sighed and shook his head, "bring them up. It looks like they need another lesson."

Everest sighed in relief as he left her alone. Her fears remained untouched. She took a moment to thank God for the courage He must have brought to those woman. Now all that was left was for Marshall or the team to come and save them.

X

Marshall tightened his grip as the guard struggled. Finally the squirming stopped and the guard went limp. He let go and motioned Kaiser and Skye onward.

"Hostiles! Incoming!" they heard a shout on their coms

"Damn it, they found Chase," Kaiser said.

"Marshall! We took a wrong turn and are compromised! They're getting on top of us we need help!"

"Got it, were on our way!" He shouted.

"Guys the base is up and alert, what happened?"

"Chase was compromised!"

"They were already on high alert before that!" Chase shouted, "They must have found Everest!"

"Wait a second, there going downstairs. Some of them are rerouting to you, Chase!" Radar shouted.

"No kidding!" He shouted before opening fire at some of them.

"Dudes! We could use some help!" Zuma shouted.

"On our way," Marshall replied, "Let's go."

"What about Everest? She's only one unit, Chase is three. Besides were almost to ground floor!"

"Leave her to me, go on and I can sweep this on my own," Marshall assured, "Go!"

Marshall shuffled down the stairs and reached the ground floor. He hid to a bunch of men dragging a large group of women inside the room. As soon as they closed the door he checked to see if the cost was clear and approached the door. He licked his lips examining it and called Rubble.

"Rubble, I need a ram when you have the chance."

"Coming down to you," He said dropping it down the middle of the stairs.

It clanged against the floor making a loud sound. Marshall got it and unfolded the heavy bundle into the ram and sighed.

"Boss, I'm ready to breach!"

"Do you have backup?" Ryder asked.

"No, it's just me," He replied

"Wait for Chase. Chase get down there!"

"On it!" Chase shouted.

Marshall stared at the door. He put the ram down and used his x-ray to see if he could get a body count. There were several. Ten that looked like they were holding a gun. He put the screen away and picked the ram up. Then he heard that terrible scream.

X

 **Present Time/ December 1st, 2017/ 12: 51**

That was everything up until now. How he got here, how everything led up to this moment for him.

Everything seemed to slow as he dropped the ram and pulled up his M4 shouting, "P.A.W.S! Everyone get down!"

The women screamed as the guns were raised and shots were fired. Marshall moved left as he shot the men down trying to grab a hostage. Two had managed to grab a woman and use them as a human shield. Marshall's aim however was better than they anticipated. That was five, five more. He took cover behind a sofa before they could hit him. Josef took cover behind his desk getting a gun from his desk. Marshall took out two more hostiles trying to get behind his cover. Marshall reloaded his M4 and took out two more taking cover behind the same desk that Josef was behind. One peaked out and was taken out quickly. The last two along with Josef stayed behind the desk. Marshall carefully moved out and tried to take out the last ones. He was able to take one out but the other got a hit on him.

"Not so tough now are you," Josef laughed getting out of cover.

Marshall groaned and rolled over on his side covering his shoulder. He slowly sneaked his hand to his side.

"I have to congratulate you for taking out several of my men and finding me. Undoubtedly because of your friend here."

Marshall looked at Everest. His eyes widened and closed them in pain of what he saw.

Josef motioned one of his men to finish Marshall. He clenched his teeth and pulled out his Ruger.

"You sick Bastards!" He shouted before firing it and taking out his first opponent.

His second, Josef was hit in the leg. Marshall carefully pulled himself up and relocked the revolver.

Marshall pointed and taunted, "Hell's got a special place for you, asshole."

He pulled the trigger and Josef's body spasmed and turned limp. Marshall checked his pockets for keys and then attended Everest, completely forgetting the women inside the room.

"Hey, are you okay? Everest?"

She watched him undo the chains and fell limp into his hold. He got a blanket from his pack and covered her exposed body.

"It's okay, I'm here," He said assuringly, "I'm sorry… for all of this."

Everest started to cry, knowing that what was happening was very real, "Marshall… you came for me."

"You know I did. I wasn't about to lose you. I wouldn't allow it," Said with tears building in his eyes and he paused his treatment.

Chase rushed in with his gun checking the environment and all of the hostages. He started checking up on them and making sure they were all okay. Destiny got up and behind Marshall.

"Are you Marshall?" She asked.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Everest told me about you. I don't know why, but I somehow knew you would come for her. Thank you for saving us."

"Holly crap, is that Josef?" Chase asked.

"Yeah, I think so. We've been looking for this guy for how long?" Marshall asked.

"Ten years," Chase shook his head.

He scanned the area and called Ryder, "Boss, we've got hostages down here, Marshall A-OK, Everest is in need of EMS. Marshall is getting here right now."

"How are the hostages?" Ryder asked.

"So far, they look fine. No signs of fatal trauma," Chase replied.

"Alright, and the hostiles?"

"Marshall took them out. I'm getting photos of a man we think is Josef," Chase replied.

"Josef? I'll alert command, well done you two. And Chase, tell Marshall good job but remind him not to do that again."

Chase chuckled before replying, "Will do, boss."

Chase returned to attending the hostages until support arrived to take over. A paramedic checked Everest over and asked to transport her. Everest, however, refused.

"Ma'am you understand that when, by refusing transport, you may risk needed treatment?" Asked the paramedic.

"I'm fine, thank you. I have someone that can help," She replied.

The paramedic nodded, "Alright, ma'am. As long as you're sure."

"Thank you," Everest smiled keeping her blanket close.

She was given some cloths later. The paramedic did a few more last minute checks. Everest looked around the premises seeing red, white, and blue lights flashing furiously. Then beyond the yellow tape she could see a familiar face. It passed the tape with a flash of a badge and got closer. Her eyes widened.

"No, not now," She said under her breath.

"Excuse me?" The Paramedic asked.

"Nothing," Everest replied, "I was just…"

"Excuse me, sir," Said the source of Everest's dread, "Might I have a word with Miss Winters here in privet."

"I'm finished with my checkups she should be fine," Was the reply.

They shared a few pleasantries and the paramedic finally left. The sunglasses looked down at her and were removed.

"Agent Carson," She addressed, "Here to check on me?"

"I wish that was all but, unfortunately, there's more to it. Being the recent developments I have been ordered to tell you it's time, Winters. You need to get that file."

"Sir, I don't know, I don't feel good about this," Everest hugged the blanket tighter.

"I know, that's why I took it upon myself to get you the necessary objects to make it easier. All you have to do is get in and get out without being scene. The file is in a code and fingerprint sealed safe box. You'll know it when you see it."

"All due respect, I don't think I can do this. I'm sorry; I've been here long enough to realize that I cannot betray my team."

"Miss Winters, you can't just drop out like this is some job. This is a mission and you already half way in it. There's a price for failure and even I don't like it."

"Can you just cut the sympathy crap and admit you're enjoying this?" She scolded.

"As a matter of fact, I'm not, and as I was saying, you have no choice but to go through with this. The punishment is probably even too much for you."

"I don't care what you do to me," Everest glared, "I'm not betraying them, I'm not doing this, and I'm not a C.I.A Agent. Got it? You can do what you want, I won't care. But my team comes first."

Everest got up, bundled the blanket and threw it into his arms, "You look cold. Why don't you wrap up?"

She started to walk away but he yelled suddenly grasping her attention, "Do you really think that you're the one at risk here? I'm not talking about me, understand that?"

"Then what?" She asked rolling her eyes.

"Do you really think we haven't been watching you?" He asked, "We know about your relationship with Sgt. Benton. Wait, I'm sorry, you quite. I meant to say, _Master_ Sergeant Benton."

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"I said there was a price and you weren't going to like it. We've watched how you've been with him and kept it quiet as best we could. But, since your quitting, you're sending him back to Delta. I understand he was once a Staff Sergeant but he's done enough here and there to earn a promotion."

"You can't do that, Marshall is done with the Army," She reproached.

Agent Carson shrugged, "It's not me it's them. You quit, Mr. Benton…Msgt. Benton goes back to Syria."

"S-Syria? N-no, please, you can't send him there, he already told me he can't go back. It would kill him! He would go crazy. There's so much pain for him there."

"I understand, but they have the ability," Sighed Carson, "What'll it be, Miss Winters?"

"I'll get it, I swear, just… please… don't send Marshall there. He can't… I can't stand the thought of him being there."

"Very well, Miss Winters. Get it as soon as you can, an before the ninth," He instructed, "Understand?"

"Yes, I can get it tonight, just meet me tomorrow."

"Very well… and Miss Winters, I am sorry for all of this."

Everest hugged herself and sniffed, "No you're not."

"Here, you look cold," He sighed and gave her the blanket back, "Why don't you bundle up?"

After he left Marshall approached her and said, "Were moving out, ready to go home?"

"Yes… thank you, Marshall," She said before composing herself.

She followed but only then just realized that the items she needed to break into the office were hidden in the blanket. She hid them again quickly and continued to follow close to Marshall. They returned to the HQ and started parting ways. Marshall, of course, volunteered to take her home. He was able to rent a car, if you were curious how he would accomplish this.

"Good job today, Everyone," Ryder said, "And Everest, it's good to have you back."

Everest smiled warmly and gave a soft, "Thanks boss."

Ryder nodded and headed out. Radar raced passed her along with Zuma and Kasier close behind.

"Come on slowpokes, Rocky's waiting for us!" Radar shouted.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Zuma shouted.

While Kasier had the opportunity he quickly called for the passenger front seat, "Shotgun!"

"Gah, damn it!" Zuma cursed in agrivation.

"Snooze you lose," Radar quickly remarked turning his car on.

They drove off leaving whoever was left. Rubble was calmly walked towards the door.

"Not in a hurry like the others, eh?" Chase asked.

"No, I'm not headed to Rocky's place. I'm going home. My wife wants me back ASAP. She still can't believe that this vacation is happening."

"Well enjoy it while you can, big man," Chase pat his shoulder, "Good night."

"See ya," Rubble waved.

Marshall greeted Skye as she left from the changing room and put her stuff on a chair to tie her boots. However there was no acknowledgement. She looked lost in thought. Marshall tried to get her attention again but she didn't respond.

"Skye. Skey? Hey Skye!"

"Huh? What?" She asked.

"You okay?" He asked.

"I… yeah, I'm okay," She replied dully.

She took her stuff and blinked quickly. She walked at normal pace however. Her head hung in a sulky way. Marshall examined her more; she didn't look normal.

"Hey, you know what's up with Skye?" Marshall asked Chase.

Chase sighed and stared at her back replying, "She just took someone out for the first time. She froze up during our last firefight. She nailed a guy clear between the eyes. He almost got a knife on me. I'm not letting her stay alone all through this break."

"Good idea, she looks like she's showing early signs of P.T.S.D. Keep a good eye on her, Chase. I wouldn't want to lose her."

"Me neither, brother," Chase pat him before going out.

Marshall made sure he had everything and took out his keys, "Everest, I'm going to start the car. I'll be out there when you ready."

Everest nodded and smiled plastically, "Of course, I'll be out in a few minutes I need to use the bathroom and get a few things."

"Sure, I'll be waiting."

"Okay," She said waiting for him to get out of the building.

When he left she quickly made it to the elevator and got to the office floors. She made her way past the desks and dividers until she got to the C.E.O office door. Inside was a copy of the key card. She scanned it and dialed in the code given to her. Afterwards, she made her way to the safe and quickly got rubber fingerprints with the copy of Jake's on the rubber. She was careful not to touch it herself. When it opened she dialed in the code and put on a new pair of cloved to avoid fingerprinting the pages. She dug through the sensitive files and found the one she was looking for.

"PAW Patrol," She read it in a whisper.

She took it and hid it under her cloths. After that, she disposed of the objects she used and went down the elevator. She went inside the bathroom again and washed her hands. She didn't know why but she felt like she had to. She took a moment to look into the mirror. She was about to cry.

"You traitor," She said to the reflection.

On her way out Marshall had surprised her, "Oh! Marshall, you startled me."

He chuckled, "Sorry, I was just wondering what took you so long."

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to take too long. I'm fine now," She assured.

She tried to get to the car but Marshall stopped her, "Hey Everest."

Everest froze and turned around, "Yes Marshall?"

"You left you jacket," He laughed.

She laughed too as to blow off the worry and shake off the guilt, "What? How do you forget something like that? Thank you, Marshall."

"Just doing my duty, and keeping the team healthy," He grinned.

Everest took her stuff out into the trunk of his car and he drove them to her apartment. As soon as they got up to her room she changed cloths and hid the file. Marshall was in the process of making hot beverages for the two. Everest leaned on the doorpost of the kitchen and living room and stared at him. She kept fresh in her mind the feeling of his hands on her bare chest during their time in Afghanistan. She watched his hands on the cups. For once she actually envied an inanimate object. He brought the two cups over to the coffee table in the living room. She followed and took her cup. She sat between his legs and laid onto his chest. They were actually quite silent for the whole ordeal. Marshall had eventually broken the silence for them.

"Everest, you don't have to answer this but… did those people in anyway…"

"NO," She said took quickly.

Everest took a minute to clear her throat and repeated, "No, Marshall, they didn't. If it wasn't for you and the rest of the team, they would have. He... He just touched me… he didn't rape me, Marshall. I can promise you that."

Marshall nodded and sipped his cup, "Okay… Everest, I'm sorry, I should have…"

"Stop blaming yourself! Damn it, Marshall! Why do you have to be so…!" She put her cup down and shot up as she yelled, but started to cry trying to calm down, "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't…!"

She ranted on trying to apologize but Marshall merely stood up slowly and approached her. Everest felt a finger on her mouth then a pair of soft warm lips. She began to cry. She needed this, wanted it. The things that Josef tried to do; she only wanted Marshall doing. She wrapped her hand around the back of his neck and head and pressed the kiss on. Only to say one thing would she let him go.

"Marshall, stay with me… if you're sorry, you won't let anything separate us, you won't leave me again. Not even to protect our jobs. I want you to promise me that."

Marshall leaned in and whispered sweetly to her, "I promise, Husky."

That was it for her. She needed Marshall. Everest grabbed his hair and kissed him roughly.

"I can't wait anymore, Marshall. I need to do this," She started to kiss his neck, his lips, and even started to undo his clothes.

Marshall stopped her and slowly brought his hands up her arms and onto her shoulder. She froze as if she were being checked for weapons in a sweep. She was wearing a tank top again to recline in. She had expected him to give her a speech to wait for a "little" longer but instead his hand began to remove the straps and bring down the tank top and expose her bra. Black again. She knew it actually had an alluring effect on Marshall. Marshall took her image in and she moved her hands to her back. The bra slowly fell off her chest. Marshall instinctively turned and rubbed his mouth to think this through. She looked slowly approached him and took his hands. Slowly, but not without strength to keep him from flinching, she brought them up and put them on her chest. Marshall didn't know what to do; Everest took in the feeling of his hands. Somehow they were warm even from going outside and dealing with cold objects.

"Are you sure?" Marshall finally asked.

Everest smiled at him and replied, "I'm ready, Marshall. Please… make love to me."

And he did. Marshall had done to her what she only dreamed of. It never made Everest happier.

X X X X

Yeah, I'm not tackling that. I had half a mind to put in the scene but nope. To be fair, I'm making the next chapter focused on Chase and Skye. It's only right since it's the last one before the special one. I apologize profusely for anything that may have offended anyone and am more than willing to modify this chapter should it be requested. Thank you for your patience in this one's delay, I was taking Christmas break off, and I do apologize for its longevity, which is over 10000 words. Now you know why I'm named 10000. I'm longwinded like that. Anyway, don't forget to leave a favorite, make a comment, its free after all, and have a good brand new year.

-10000reasons


	9. Chapter 9: Struggle

Just to be clear, everyone knows the pups are humans right? No anthropomorphism or anything. There are just humans here. I'm just making sure. And if you have something offensive to say, aim it at me, not another reviewer. The review page doesn't have a very good chatting section it's a comment section.

X X X X

Skye had dreaded the moment that she would take a life. She should have known that now was going to be that time. So far, she was able to avoid the small army of men. Kaiser was taking care of most of the killing. She was just watching his back. Finally, she could see Chase and his team. They raced over and began to fight off the hostiles as a larger unit. Chase led them on so they could use the elevator. When they got there a bunch of men had incidentally been coming up to investigate the noise. Chase, thinking quickly, shot at the ropes of the elevator and the whole thing tumbled down.

"Well, that's not an option anymore," He said to them, "Let's get to the stairs!"

"Tangos!" Zuma shouted.

The team snapped their weapons at the new wave and took cover. Skye stayed and sat behind her crate. Her hands shook and her breath was picking up. A cold sweat was building. Chase started to move up from cover to a new position unknowing that a Ka-Bar knife was following him. Skye, being on his left side, could see clearly behind him.

She saw the man coming at Chase without his knowledge and, on instinct, shouted, "Chase lookout!"

She aimed and discharged her weapon. She could see the man's face. He was surprised she was there. The bullet landed right between his eyes. A sick feeling hit her stomach. Everything seemed to have slowed. She had just killed someone for the first time.

X

After that assault, that actually took all day yesterday, she had become despondent. Chase tried to get her attention several times. Most of the time, she would at least hear her name five times before she responded to him. She wouldn't eat much either. Many of the things that she liked to do were shrugged off. Chase started to worry even more about her. That night her condition seemed to have worsened. Skye woke up screaming, her melancholy leaving but it was replaced by restlessness.

"Skye! Are you okay?" He asked.

"No! No!"

He fled to her side but she started assaulting him. His caring instincts kicked in and he started to restrain her.

"Skye! It's me!" He finally stopped her, "It's Chase."

She stared into his eyes and continued crying, "Chase?"

He nodded and hugged her close, "It's me, Skye. Don't be afraid, it's just me."

She hugged hit tightly and clutched onto his shirt, "Chase… what have I done? I didn't want to do it."

"I know."

"I shouldn't have done it, I could have stopped him another way," She sobbed.

"Shh, it's alright. I know how you feel," He stroked her blond head.

"You… know! You think you know how this feels!" She screamed, "You do it every day and you don't even care!"

"S-Skye…"

"Don't Skye me you bastard!" She shouted, "You killed at least ten of those guys and look at you! You don't' even care. You don't know how this feels."

She glared at him and he returned it with sad eyes. She leaned in.

"You like it."

Chase didn't take it personally, but it still hurt. His first kill gave him nightmares. Being a sniper, he went through all the philosophy, all the paths. He knew the outcomes.

X

 **Five years before present/ June 30th, 2012/ 13:00 hours**

Chase, and his spotter, SPC. Caleb Lance, had stubble onto the trail of a terrorist leader by the name of Ibden Bin Ali. After letting command know, they were ordered to take him out. The man acted as if he were a civilian, going into public restaurants and eating a meal or attending public places. But one day, his life would be forfeit. Chase and Caleb took precautions to have the right spot and go to the right places to keep surveillance on him. That day, Ibden was going to his favorite restaurant and ordering his favorite meal. Chase had a clear shot on him.

"You are clear to fire," Caleb told him.

Chase waited. He didn't feel right by killing a man who was eating.

"What are you waiting for, command wants this guys gone," Caleb told him.

"No, let him finish his last meal," Chase replied.

It was a courtesy, among warriors, Chase had thought. But, in this case, it was a courtesy between a warrior and a killer. Chase waited for Ibden to finish and pay his bill before heading out. Finally, Chase took the safety off his rifle and breathed out. Ibden walked out of the restaurant to be stopped by a waiter so he could have his wallet back. Chase saw the smile on his face and the formalities he exchanged with the waiter. That was a terrorist? It only made him more hesitant.

"Chase, do it!" Caleb said.

He was getting out of sight, but Chase couldn't. He just couldn't do it.

"Now!" Caleb rebuked.

Chase, under pressure, took carful aim and shot the terrorist leader in the head. At the last minute it looked as if Ibden was looking straight at him when it hit. Screams were heard and shouts rang out. Chase felt a sick feeling in his stomach. The man was dead. His mission was complete.

X

Yes, Chase remembered it all well. He hated every minute of it. Skye was still glaring at him. He exhaled and sat down in the chair next to her. Her face softened, she regretted what she said.

"Chase, I…" She took one last look at him but he was getting up to leave, "Chase!"

He turned and looked at her. She could tell she hit a soft spot. Now and there, she just wanted to die, take the gun from under her pillow and blow her head off. She started crying again and hid her face into her legs.

"I'm sorry… I'm so… so sorry," She apologized.

He wiped his eyes and cleared his throat, getting up and coming to her side. She felt his soft touch as he stroked her back and brought her close again. Marshall was right: she had developed P.T.S.D. How's that for vacation? At least he had that time to walk her through it. Just the way Marshall did except more intimate, probably.

"Skye, ever first kill is the hardest and here's why. I believe in the theological way of life that says we weren't originally meant to kill on another. When we kill it tears a part of us. Even when we had good reasons for what we did we still feel guilty. If there was a trial, we would plead guilty, no matter what. The evidence supports us, the story supports us, but we don't support ourselves. Death is an abnormal part of nature that should have existed. When we become the source, we think we're the abnormality. But let me tell you this, death is not human; we are. We are not death. We may cause it, but we aren't it. That's why there are people like us, who try to find the solution. Because humanity is not all lost, just missing. You understand what I'm saying?"

Skye sniffed and nodded, "Yeah."

"So don't you blame yourself for what happened. You'll get through this. I promise," He kissed her cheek rocked her.

"They say its gets easier, is that true?" Skye asked.

"It does, but it doesn't feel any better. Your just tired of doing the same old crap and process that you naturally give up the crying, the philosophy. You accept your title as a murder, as philosophers put it, a hero, as others may put it, or a team member, as I and everyone in the team would put it. You just realize you don't care anymore and you find that there's just getting past the fighting and surviving the cut. This isn't going to be the first time you feel like this. It's going to be every time. But yeah, it's going to be easier."

Skye hider her face again, "I don't think that's a good thing."

"It isn't," Chase shook his head, "But some would consider it a necessary evil."

"What do you consider it as?"

Chase brushed his hair and took in a deep breath, "I consider it my way of life. It's among the only things I can do properly until I can find a way to settle down and get off the edge of my seat."

He got up from the bed and grabbed her hand, "You should get some more sleep. It's three in the morning."

He let her go but she reattached with a death-grip, "Don't leave me… Please, just stay here tonight."

Chase saw the desperation in her eyes he couldn't say no to. He agreed so she made room for him by sliding over. He slipped under the covers of her bed and fixed a good position so she could rest on his chest, inside his arms. She fell asleep almost immediately. He chuckled and kissed the top of her head.

"Goodnight, Skye."

X X X

In the morning, Rocky was woken up by the sound of a crying baby. He groaned and shifted to his side.

"Rosita, love of my life, could you be so kind and take core of the kids?" Rocky asked.

"Don't love-talk me, Rocky, I've been taking care of them all day yesterday," She groaned back covering her head under the blankets.

"Alright," He sighed, "I'll just worsen the condition of my hands by picking up these poor, heavy babies and ruining my bandages."

She uncovered her head and glared at him, "You don't even need all that gauze your practically healed, you big baby."

He laughed at her and got up, "Relax, I was just kidding. Let's see what the girls are screaming about."

Rocky went to their crib and immediately withdrew, "Woah, son of a… I wasn't going to curse."

He could feel Rosita's glare. Rocky plugged his nose and swathe problem.

"Okay, yup, we got three girls who just soiled themselves. Want to help with this?"

"It's a good experience, Rocky. You should do it."

"Yeah, I'm sure it's a very good experience seeing the sh…crap of my kid after they ate three cups of apple sauce."

"You need to wash that sailor mouth of yours," She giggled, "You're going to slip one day and those girls are going to use those words all over the place."

"Rose, these girls are using that word every day but with the other end," Rocky jested and took the child into the bathroom.

She stood up and took another baby, "Ooh, you are a stinky one, aren't you?"

"You see?" Rocky pointed, "Even you hate it and you're used to it."

"Oh hush," She hit him.

He started to attend the "accident" but terribly. Rosita shook her head and took the girl from him.

"Honey, like this," She started to show him.

He started stretching his hands and shaking them. Rosita stopped to watch him.

"You okay?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine there just getting itchy-tingly again. It feels weird."

"Alright, get the other one, I'll do this. But watch me, okay, you may need to know how to do this too," She pointed at him in a scolding manor.

"You're a peach, Rose," He kissed her cheek.

Rocky got the last girl and watched, with a plugged nose, as Rosita taught him how to change a diaper. They finally took care of the problem and were able to escape the terrible scent of manure.

"There all better," Rosita started to bounce the baby she was holding, "She has your eyes, you know."

"Yeah, but your face," He laughed, "They all do."

"Aren't you happy?" She asked, "You always loved my face."

"Yeah but… I hope they don't inherit everything from you. No offence, but you were a hard mountain to conquer when we were in high school."

"Ah, offense taken," She said jokingly, "It's not like I was the pretty girl who was the most popular girl in school. I had wonderful grades. I just had standards that you didn't meet."

"Says the girl who married me," Rocky teased her.

"Rules were meant to be bent," She shrugged, "But I think they eventually changed."

"Thank God for that," He kissed her head, "You keep with the kids; I'm getting some pain killer."

Rosita laughed and decided to ignore the fact he left her alone with their offspring. She preferred to take care of the kids anyway.

X X X

Despite the civilized manor in which Chase and Skye had slept there was a bit of a prowler on the loose. Chase was sleeping soundly but Skye was awake staring hungrily at him. Well, not at him, it was actually his pillow. She had three out of the four pillows that were on the bed, but she had to have Chase's. She didn't know why, there was no reason for her to justify it, it was her right. She stayed in waiting squinting at the pillow as Chase had shifted his position tirelessly. It could have been that he sensed the predator's gaze. Still he tried to get comfortable. Skye licked her lips and waited longer, waiting for her opportunity. That pillow… it had to be hers. At last! Chase had lifted his head to get more comfortable and she sprang into action. He hands quickly grabbed the pillow and hugged it to her face. She felt a small satisfaction only to become cluless.

 _What the hell did I even do?_ She asked herself.

Chase's head landed on the bed but with a loud thunking sound. His head had hit the backboard. That was a rude awakening.

"What the…," He turned over and saw Skye staring at him cluelessly, "What was that for?"

Skye didn't know what to say, she had her prize but relized she didn't actually want it. She had three others and she took Chase's one.

"I don't know," She replied, "Um… good morning?"

Chase scoffed and rubbed the top of his head, "Well, that's one way to do it."

She put the pillow back in its place and apologized, "Uh sorry, I don't know why I did that."

"Why you took a pillow away from somebody? Who does that, Skye?" Chase chuckled.

"Well, me for one," Skye said scratching her head, "I'm still trying to figure out what I did that for."

"Ah, don't worry about it," He kissed her cheek, "You should get a shower, it's the first day of our long break and it would be nice to go out."

Skye shrugged and started grabbing some cloths, "Yeah, sure, I guess that's okay."

Skye still looked puzzled. She kept asking herself why she was after that pillow. But more importantly, why was she making a big deal out of it? That was the moment her brain shifted gears and dropped the subject. At least, she thought she did. She eventually began to laugh at it. She started the water in her shower and waited for it to warm before hopping in. She closed her eyes and let the warm water wash over her body. It felt relaxing. Showers were one of her favorite inventions that had come to the world. Whoever made them deserved a Nobel Prize. She eventually made a move for her shampoo but ended up nocking it over on the shower floor. She sighed and went for it again. She was able to pick it up but it slipped out of her hand. She growled and tried again but this time picked it up with so much momentum it slipped again

"You stupid piece of…!"

Skye picked up her foot and stomped on the bottle, then picked up and threw it out of the shower. She rolled her eyes and yelled out in frustration.

"Skye! Skye are you okay in there?" Chase nocked on the door.

Skye growled, not feeling like wanting to deal with him, "Shut up!"

Chase pulled back with a raise of his eyebrows and waited. He heard stomping around in the bathroom and a stream of curses. That was way out of her character. She never liked using profanity. Now, it almost seemed like her best friend. Chase sighed and leaned on the door. Should he say anything else? He didn't know. Skye had stomped back into the shower and started to over-empty the shampoo bottle into her hand. She took thought at what she did and started to feel a bit sorry for Chase. She started to calm down too.

"Chase?' She called out.

But he didn't answer. Chase wasn't even there. She sighed and started to curse herself.

"Look at you, all you did was drop a stupid shampoo bottle and you yell at him for no good reason. Smooth work, Skye. Smooth work. Next thing you're going to do is drop your fork then stab him with it, is that it? Or maybe you're just going to throw your knife at him because you can't even cut your own food…"

She stopped and imagined it all. She imagined the look that would be on his face: sadness, betrayal, confusion… those eyes… Skye kept to the task of washing her hair, but she started to cry silently to herself. Those eyes he would give her.

"You have to calm down, Skye," She told herself, "You're not going to do that. And you're certainly not going to let this get you. You going to make it through this and not let it defeat you. You're better than this thing. You're still you."

She took deep breaths and composed. As she finished her shower she kept pep-talking her reflection to make sure it knew she was going to defeat this condition. She was going to come out on top. Skye Heffron wasn't about to go down without a fight.

"You're a God-made Marine for heaven's sake," She ended, "You went through the toughest training in basic. Don't be such a wuss. Gosh."

She looked at herself and fixed her attire: jeans and a pink shirt. It was casual today, nothing complicated or attractive. That's what appealed to Chase's taste more. He didn't care about all those fancy things that a girl would invest in. He just liked simple. She smiled at herself and nodded. She could hear the sizzling of pans from downstairs when she escaped the foggy bathroom in her top floor. Another smile escaped her. Chase could hear her shuffle down the stairs.

Once she entered the kitchen, she greeted him, "Morning, Chase."

"Good morning," he smiled, "Feeling alright?"

"Well, I want to apologize for yelling at you. I shouldn't make a shampoo bottle such a big deal."

Chase smiled back and replied, "It's alright Skye. I was the same way. You're doing better than me, so far. I actually threw my bar of soap at Marshall when he tried asking if I was okay cussed him off too."

"Oh wow, what did he do after that?"

"Threw it right back and faced me like a man. He told me, 'You don't treat a friend like that, pal! Next time you want target practice, go to the range!' Needless to say I cursed him off again and one shower later apologized and took his advice to heart."

Skye giggled with a weak smile. She enjoyed hearing about Chase and Marshall's relationship past. Their stories scratched those itches for entertainment. Other times they were just nice to hear because they related with you. "The Brothers", she had taken to calling them, had stories you wouldn't believe. They had gone through a lot. It's what made them such effective members of the team.

"How did Marshall cope with his first kill," Skye asked in curiosity.

Chase chuckled and thought back deep in the past. Marshall's case was a whole lot different.

"Marshall… didn't have a process. It wasn't because he liked it or it felt good to him. He was tired. Too tired to cry or get frustrated. He had so many people to take care of and…, to be honest, he was tired of crying about his life. He was conditioned before he was ready to be. You know the story. That day made Marshall tough, tougher than me, in fact. He was a wimp during school, but a biggest guy in the block by the time we hit army. Never broke a tear."

Skye envied Marshall in that. She didn't want to go through this whole emotional train but she was already on and there was no jumping off. Her past was traumatic, but it wasn't this bad.

"I had thought that Marine training would have gotten me through this," She sighed, "But it didn't. I wish it did, but… it didn't. They lied about. They said they could but they didn't."

Chase could already see her getting flustered, "Skye."

Skye ignored him, "They think that their tough training is readying whoever enters for the battlefield."

"Skye," He tried again but she went on.

"Well they can't. They won't. All they want is a body to throw at their enemy so they can drop a bomb or wait for someone like me to come around and tell my gunner to do all the work!"

"Skye!" Chase raised his voice, a little flustered himself.

"What?!" She screamed.

"You doing it again, now stop!" He scolded, "They trained you to survive, not to kill. Killing comes along with surviving sometimes. It's your choice whether or not you're going to use those skills to do just that."

Skye took a deep breath and rubbed her head, "You right… it's just… ugh, now I know how Marshall felt. This… frustration, it gets so tiring."

"Then stop it," Chase said finishing preparations for breakfast, "Now get something to eat. I bet all that grumpiness is coming from your empty stomach."

Skye stared at the plate and laughed a little, "I guess you right. I'm grumpy when I'm hungry, huh?"

"Yeah, I've noticed it," Chase nodded, "Its funny, usually, but only when it's aimed at someone else. Here you go."

He put a plat in front of her. She thanked him and began to east. A smile came to her face. It was good, really good. Of course, Chase was gifted in that way.

X X X

During that same morning, Everest lied awake on Marshall's chest. She had woken up rather early but couldn't get back to sleep. What she had done had been on her mind. She practically betrayed her team. She dreaded what Marshall would think about her if he found out. She knew it was unlikely because of all the good he tries to see in everyone. She'd be a disappointment to him. She took a hand and stroked some of Marshall's hair out of his face. He was pretty adorable for a sleeping soldier. She examined he was still in deep sleep and began to move slowly, taking a blanket to cover her bare body and leaving the heavier blanket of the two she had on her bed with him. She blushed as she recalled what she had done with him last night.

She leaned over and kissed his forehead whispering, "Thank you, Marshall."

He stirred but didn't wake up. She laughed quietly to not wake him. He was sprawled with an arm hanging off the bed. He was such a precious thing. But, recalling reality, she got dressed and prepared for what was going to happen, the file she stole in hand. A knock on the door and a turn of the handle later she was face to face with Agent Carson again.

"Good morning," He greeted with a smile but was cut short from his pleasantries when Everest for the file into his chest.

"Take it, ass hole."

Agent Carson sighed and grabbed it then looked it over. He stopped the door with his foot making Everest growl.

"What? You trying to blackmail me more?" She asked.

Carson sighed, "Miss Winters, I'm not trying to do anything, you volunteered for this, remember? I told you the consequences and you chose to go with them. I'm trying to help you; I disagreed with the compensation. Besides, you're getting paid."

Everest took the envelope he was handing and tore it, "I don't want your money. I want out of this and a normal life as a PAWS agent."

Carson looked over the file and asked, "Do you think with this you're ever going to have a normal life?"

"What are you talking about?" She asked.

"You didn't read it?" He asked.

"No, why would I read something that clearly says 'Top Secret' on it, you asshat!" She replied.

Carson gave it back and smiled, "Just take a peak, you won't put it down after that, but you deserve to know what you're getting into."

"You mean what you're putting me through?' She asked.

Carson chuckled and replied, "Sure, let's go with that."

Silence followed; then she grabbed it. Everest read the file over and started to relax read more. Then more. She flipped the page and saw Ryder's top secret file. It had his info, his history, everything they knew. Same with every other member. There were two others she didn't know. She had acquainted herself with Tracker, but who was Ty Peirce? She skimmed a file here, read a paragraph there, and went back to the main page.

"What the hell is all this?" She asked him.

"Confidential info," He replied, "You have a fireplace?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Is it burning?"

She looked at it and replied, "In five."

"Burn it, all of it. Don't let anyone, including your team, know you know anything about PAW Patrol, understood? It does say 'top secret' doesn't it?"

Everest glared at him and shook her head. He smiled proud of himself. At least it seemed that way.

"Why do you want me to burn this?" Everest asked cautiously.

"I'm going against orders myself and disposing of it my own way. Between you and me, I don't trust my boss. He seems… difficult, maybe? He's the one who's putting Benton on the edge of this. Like I said, Miss Everest, I'm on your side."

Everest didn't like Carson, but she found another respect in him she never thought she would. She actually liked his style. It was a lot like Marshall's. "Better to ask forgiveness than permission," was his life motto.

"So, are you still in?" Carson asked.

Everest sighed and rolled her eyes, "I'm going to need a new paycheck."

Carson chuckled pulling another envelope out, "I knew you would rip the first one so I made sure to put your check in here."

Everest raised an eyebrow and excepted the envelope, "Know me already?"

"No, I'm just paid to anticipate people. Good day, Miss Winters," He left right as he heard a door open.

Everest closed her front door and looked up at the catwalk to see Marshall looking down, "Who was that?"

"The landlord. He thought I didn't have my rent payed but I showed him up," She replied.

Marshall chuckled, "That's my girl."

Everest smiled hearing him call her that. She had the file behind her back to keep from his sight. As soon as she turned around to get the rest of his cloths from her room she quickly moved to the fireplace and started the gas fire. She was able to burn the file then. She made sure every bit of it was unrecognizable and crumbled. All that was now done and her guilt was gone. The feeling of being a traitor left her.

Marshall came out of the room and Everest asked, "So, what do you want for breakfast?"

"You're the chef," He replied, "Not me. I leave that to you."

Everest shrugged, "Okay, but don't complain if you don't like it."

Marshall laughed, "Is that even a possibility?"

Everest shrugged again, "We'll see."

X X X

Chase and Skye decided to get out a bit since it was starting to get a bit dull inside the house. She wanted to do something instead of watch the same episode of their favorite T.V. show over and over again. They had contacted Marshall and Everest and were going to meet them at the snowboarding resort up the mountain. It had been a while since they got a chance to do something fun like it. some of the others were coming but not till a round or two later.

"Alright, ready to do this?" Chase smiled.

Skye shrugged and replied, "Yeah, sure."

Chase smacked his lips, sighed and shook his head, "Oh, come on, don't be so dim, are you ready!"

Skye rolled her eyes and replied louder but still dull, "Yeah!"

"It'll due, let's move! Marshall and Everest are waiting for us," Chase shook his head.

Skye followed Chase to the rendezvous point where Everest and Marshall were already getting strapped in. They greeted them once they met.

"Ey, you made it," Marshall smiled, "Ready to break something?"

"Pft, not gonna happen. And it was a sprain, Marshall," Chase grinned, "They would have never let me into the force if it was a break."

"I thought you lied about that," Marshall scoffed.

"Nope," Chase replied putting his board down.

"What's this about?" Skye asked.

"MEPS," Chase replied.

Skye nodded in understanding and changed the subject, "So, who's money are we putting on face planting first," Skye grinned.

Chase and Everest were quick to answer, "Marshall."

Marshall tossed his arms up and shouted, "Really?!"

"You do it every time," Chase shrugged, "Don't deny it."

"Okay, you're on," Marshall said in a challenging tone.

"Let the battles begin," Everest laughed, "Eight okay."

"Three okay," Marshall stood up.

"Two okay," Chase was leaning but gave a thumbs up.

"Four okay," Skye was completely straight but also gave a thumbs up.

"Let's do it," Everest clapped.

They got up to the ledge and pushed off. The group of four raced down hill and dodged other boarders. Everest proved to be the most experienced and ended up beating them to the end. Midway, about near the end of the hill, Marshall overcorrected a turn and ended up rolling down the hill. Chase and Skye arrived last with Chase raising his hands while laughing with the others.

"Victorious!" He shouted.

"Yeah, but I beat you," Marshall grinned sitting up.

"If you mean in the snow, then yes," Chase chuckled.

"No, down the hill, Smartass," Marshall shook his head.

"No, that was Everest. And I'm not surprised with all those ramps you were taking. I can barely take that many without ending up like my brother here," Chase folded his arms.

"You kiddin'?" Everest scoffed, "This isn't anything compared to the hills back in my day. I was born to board, Chase."

"I can see that," He sighed, "Whelp, another round?"

"Yeah, help me up," Marshall groaned.

Chase pulled him up and heard a scream, "Look out! Look out! Look out!"

Chase looked up and saw a girl headed straight for him, "Oh sh…"

Before he could finish his profanity, he was full on impacted by the girl and knocked flat on his back. She had practically sacked him. It wasn't on purpose, but it was a startling development. The group took off their boards and raced over to help.

"Agh, are you okay?" Chase asked.

The girl was on top of him trying to get up. Once she saw him, she was completely silent.

"Ma'am?" Chase asked.

"Chase, are you okay, man?" Marshall asked.

"Yeah, help her up," Chase replied.

The girl let Skye and Everest help her up into a sitting position per Marshall's instruciton while Marshall helped him sit up. He took out a light and started checking his eyes.

"I'm fine, Marshall get her," Chase said.

"Hold up…you're okay. Alright, you should unstrap and get ready to get back up the hill," Marshall instructed and started on the girl, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…fine. Just a bit shaken. Is he okay?"

"I'm fine," Chase replied, "Are you?"

"I'm okay," She replied.

Marshall started his assessment and smiled, "Doesn't seem to be anything wrong."

Her friends met them at the end of the hill and asked, "Yo, Nat, you okay, girl?"

The girl, so far named Nat, replied, "I'm fine, just… a bit shaken."

Everest crossed her arms and smirked, "You were luck you were wearing a helmet you first time around."

Nat tilted her head, "How did you know this is my first time snowboarding?"

"You would have known how to avoid him if it wasn't," Everest replied, "Rookies tend to have a unique boarding ability that often leads to a scar at first. Don't worry; you've probably already gotten yours."

Chase helped her up again and asked, "Can you walk?"

She stared, speechless, at him again before stuttering, "I-I think so. I'm Natalie, pleased to meet you."

Her hand came out and both girls could tell that she was nervous. Everest turned to snicker to herself. Skye, in the other hand, instantly became infuriated but remembered to stay cool. Chase awkwardly accepted a the hand to shake and exchange pleasantries. Skye clenched her fists and gave him the stink eye all through. Natalie's friends joined the conversation. Skye was the only silent one in the group now. Marshall, acting as her dutiful brother decided to take her to the side.

"Hey, are you okay?" He asked firstly.

Skye was now in a quiet explosion, "Can you believe the nerve of that bitch! She's over there, hitting on _my_ boyfriend!"

Marshall's eyes widened, "Since when do you use profanity? Never mind, forget I asked. Look, she hasn't made any moves on him; she's only talking with him right now. Don't worry about it."

"I am not going to let her take Chase away, Marshall, I don't care what you think she did, she, clear as crystal, likes him," She crossed her arms angrily.

Marshall sighed and quietly told himself, "I haven't seen her this angry since the rape scenario six months ago. Look, Skye, I'm sure you're just overestimating her feelings for Chase. I don't even think she's…"

Skye took his jaw and poitioned his head towards Natalie who was giggling with dreamy eyes at Chase. Marshall took a moment to let it sink in and sighed.

"Okay, so that's confirmed, she does like him, but listen, if you really want to not loose him, its best to let him handle this."

"Oh, sure, let him handle something he doesn't even understand. I flirted with him for a whole year and he didn't even take a hint, Marshall! He doesn't even know what someone shaking their head like this," she began to demonstrate briefly, "means. He can't take hints! It'll be too little too late!"

Marshall sighed and covered his face, partially so he wouldn't laugh, "Skye, I know that more than you do. But, right now, unlike you, I have faith in Chase to understand before it becomes an issue. Defend him form the intimate stuff; if she's going for him, by all means, scratch her, but don't battler her where there's no war."

"She just started one," Skye said walking away.

Marshall groaned and Everest approached, "Uh oh, what's wrong?"

"The alpha dog is defending her territory," He replied.

Everest looked at Skye, grabbing Chase's arms and pulling him to the trolley. The moment was pretty award since they didn't even finish the conversation. Everest cringed and tapped her chin.

"Oh no."

Marshall rubbed his forehead, "What's the plan?"

"I'll talk to her, you talk to him," She replied.

Marshall nodded, "Deal."

X X X

"Ow. Ow! Skye, hey, what's up?" Chase asked trying to get loose.

Skye stopped and whipped around, "Of course you wouldn't know. Chase, she's trying to flirt with you!"

"What? Skye, we were talking about snowboarding, she wasn't even…"

"Did she make any comments on how you first started?" She asked.

"Like?"

"I don't know, anything. Compliments, making situations sound more dangerous than they are; so on. Did she?"

Chase was silent and thinking back. He scratched his head.

"See? That's flirting. Chase, can't you take a hint that you're in an uncomfortable situation for me?"

"I think your just getting jealous," He chuckled.

Skye ticked and glared at him darker, "Jealous? Jealous! You runt bastard! You think you just blow this off!"

"Whoa, Skye, I just…"

"Shut up! If you're not going to take me seriously, Chase, then how the hell is it you and I lasted this long!"

"Wait, Skye, I didn't mean to…"

"I don't care! You know what; you can hitch a ride with Marshall and Everest. Or, better yet, you're knew girlfriend. I don't give a fuck anymore. I think you look like you don't need me anymore."

Chase widened his eyes, a bit hurt with her new language getting more complex. She turned and began to leave.

"You can tell the others I couldn't make it."

"Skye, I… Skye?"

Skye didn't even turn around. She left to her car and drove off. Chase sighed and scratched his head. Marshall and Chase raced over after the commotion.

Chase "Did she just…"

"Hey, Chase, what was that all about?" Marshall asked.

Chase shook his head, he tried not to cry but his eyes were starting to water up. He wiped his face and sighed.

"She didn't… did she dump you?" Everest asked.

"I… I don't know," Chase replied, "I just… I should have kept my mouth shut."

Marshall rubbed his head and tapped Everest's shoulder, "Keys, I'll get this. Can you get a ride with the other folks?"

"Yeah, I'll just talk with Chase," She replied.

"Thanks, Husky," He kissed her cheek and went to go meet with Skye.

X X X

Skye parked her car and didn't bother to bring her things in. She wanted to go inside and cry in her bed. She got her keys and fiddled with them. Her hand jiggled a door nod to see if it was locked. For some reason, she couldn't remember the key she opened her house with and had to try them all. One fit abut wouldn't unlock the door. She kept messing with it, eventually elevating and started to beat the door. In the process, she accidently hurt.

"Ow! Damn it!"

Marshall, had come by, just in time. She started to cry on the door of her house instead.

"Hey, are you alright?" He asked.

"I can't open my stupid door," She cried.

Marshall looked at the key and turned it the opposite way and opened it for her. She sighed in frustration and walked in almost slamming it on Marshall.

"Nope, you're not doing that, Skye!" Marshall shouted.

"Get your foot out of my door, Marshall!"

"Can you at least let me dress your hand?" He asked, "You won't be able to dress it yourself. Trust me."

There was a pause and she finally eased up. He walked in and got her first aid kit.

He started with some rubbing alcohol and began to talk, "Listen, I know my advice was trash, but that was before I realized you have P.T.S.D."

"Marshall, can you just… not… not today," Skye begged.

"Then when? Once Chase finds you with a bullet into your head? Once your 'pain' is all gone? Skye, this is my only chance, and I'm using it."

"Chase won't want to see me," She started to cry again.

"Yes he will," Marshall countered, "You know he will. You're just listening to that voice inside your head. I get it. I've been there. Early. Way early. I was in this position when I was nine years old. Is this because of your first kill?"

Skye tensed, seeing the face of the man she killed flash before her. That confirmed it. Marshall nodded in understanding.

"Did Chase tell you his?" Marshall asked.

She nodded. Marshall nodded as well.

"Good, that means I don't have to tell you mine. I believe in death by back story; you don't want a lecture. I just want to talk. So, how does your fist feel?"

"It stings, but it's okay," She replied.

Marshal shrugged, "That's good, that means it's not bad. How about those eyes? Something inside of them?"

Skye scoffed a little and rubbed them clean, "Yeah a little."

"Yeah," Marshall finished cleaning the fist and started for the gauze, "Yiou didn't mean any of that, did you."

"No," She sobbed, "I was just angry. I didn't mean to say any of those things, I just…"

Marshall fixed the gauze and stood up, "I know. He does too. Chase understands what you were doing; he's just a bit shaken on how drastic it's become. Your character changed. I don't blame you, I get it, Chase, his character changed too. He didn't really recover too much either."

"So I won't either?" Skye asked, "What will happen, Marshall? If I don't recover and I keep doing this, how is he supposed to live with me? I'm going to lose him if I didn't already."

Marshall shrugged and replied, "Chase ain't gonna leave you. He knows what you're going though. I've said that a hundred times now. But whatever gets the point across. Just remember this, Chase won't leave you because you had a sudden… mood swing. He'll leave you once Skye Heffron is no longer alive. And trust me, Skye, you're not gone yet. Don't let that voice talk you into leaving him for his sake. He can worry about himself. Don't even do this for your sake, that's selfish."

Skye giggled again and cleared out her eyes. Marshall smiled seeing her come back.

"Point in case, you're stuck in this relationship. At least be happily stuck, eh?"

She laughed again and sighed, "You right. Can you call him up?"

"No, but you can," He replied.

She sighed and took out her phone. Marshall grinned again.

"No seriously," He added, "I lost my phone in Everest's car and I can't find it. That area with the seat and shoulder rest is a black hole."

Skye chuckled and put her phone to her ear. It rang for a long time. Skye began to lose hope.

"Skye?" Chase's voice suddenly answered.

"Chase, can you… come back to my house… I wasn't to apologize," She stated, "And I think it's easier if you come here."

"Yeah, okay, I'll tell Radar," Chase replied and quickly did that.

"Thanks… I love you," She said with hope.

There was a small pause before he whispered, "You too."

She smiled and hung up. Marshall smiled again and sucked in.

"Whelp, I'm going to borrow your bathroom and wait here till he comes. If anyone askes, you have a bad cold."

"Yeah, okay," She nodded, "But what would Chase be doing here if I have a cold?"

"Making some soup," Marshall replied, "We've only been telling you about his world renowned cold soup, right? Radar sings about it. Ryder askes for it once in a while, and I have dreams about the stuff. Trust me, it's a healing salve that actually tastes good. And say that I 'prescribed' it."

"Sure," She laughed.

Marshall left and a few minutes passed giving her time to change and put on a blanket; when Chase finally came. Radar came in too.

"Hey Chase," She sniffed looking sickly.

"Aw, gee, lady, you look like you fell off a tree and hit every branch down," Radar said a bit horrified.

Chase looked at him with a lift of an eyebrow. Radar caught wind that what he said was rude and apologized.

"Sorry to call you over Chase. Marshall was just checking me up and said I got a pretty bad cold. He 'prescribed' that I ask you for the famous soup I was hearing about."

"I can I stay for that?" Radar asked.

"I thought you said you had to get back fast? Rocky and Rubble are still waiting for you," Everest said coming through the door.

"Aw, crap, just put some in a container and save some for me, capeche? In for a real treat, Skye, trust me. Hope you get better, cool?"

"See you, Radar," She smiled.

He took off back to the resort and Everest smiled shaking her head, "He can be such a dear, sometimes."

"Just ask him why Kingdom Hearts is no longer good and He'll go off on a scientifical rant about it with statistics and mental science. It goes way over my head," Chase sighed.

"What's Kingdom Hearts?" She asked.

Chase shook his head, "I have no idea."

Skye cleared her throat. The two looked over.

"Oh right," Everest looked for something to amuse herself and stay far away from the conversation.

They were silent at first but Skye eventually started, "I suppose that maybe I did overreact."

"No, I… you right, I don't know what flirting really looks like, none the less sound like. I should have taken you a bit more seriously than I did, so I'm sorry."

"No, that's just it. I _was_ jealous, Chase. I didn't want to admit it, but I was. I didn't want anyone…taking you away."

"Ah, that would never happen," He smiled.

"I know that now," She nodded.

They looked to the side seeing Marshall and Everest staring. Marshall started to push her towards the door and apologize putting on a cheesy smile and keeping his advance going. Everest winked at Skye. The door shut and a little while longer, they could be heard leaving.

"Chase, sometimes, I forget that you've been through more than me, and I try to keep it in mind. You've killed more, you've seen more, and…well, you've been here longer than I have. And for that, I want to ask you for your help. Marshall said that he wasn't sure if you had really recovered from your time. And we can see that I haven't recovered either. So… I want to help you. And I want you to help me."

Chase hugged Skye and kissed her forehead. She gripped him and continued.

"I don't want to leave you. Promise me you won't either. You've done it a lot before but just promise me again. Please."

"I promise, Skye," Chase replied, "I promise; I won't. You don't have to be afraid of that."

Skye took a long, shaky breath and held him tighter. They stood there for a nice long minute and eventually pulled a part.

"So, uh, do I get that soup?"

Chase chuckled and replied, "Sure. I'll check and see if you have any of the ingredients."

He left for the kitchen and started shuffling around. Skye gripped the blanket and began to think. She started to reprioritize what she wanted. She eventually chose of her two and got up into the kitchen with him. While he was starting a pot of water he felt her hands creep through her sides and in under his shirt. Strangely, despite the weather, he hands were warm. He froze in place, mixed feeling were racing through his mind about this scenario. Skye continued to rub Chase's chest but changed to a grip as she hugged him close.

"You okay?" He asked feeling the need to check up on her.

"Not really, I just… need this," She replied hugging him closer.

Chase turned the burner off, knowing full well what she wanted. He had a feeling she would have wanted this. Chase knew full well what was going to happen. This time, she would get her way… passionately.

X X X X

As you know, I'm not actually a sex scene writer. I could do it, but I choose not to. Truth be told, I don't have the guts or the stomach for it. I'm sorry this chapter couldn't be any better, but I decided that I would make this issue a bit longer. I'm a punster, so things are written till I know it's done. I don't plot it. I can take a vote if this wasn't good enough for you: ten can either be a part two or what I originally planned. Either way, whatever works better for you guys. And for those who want the scenes between Chase and Skye and Marshall and Everest… if there wasn't a rule issue, I would probably do some ungraphic ones, but I don't want to risk it. You never know what sickens people. Well, tell me what you think.


	10. Chapter 10: Code Anna

"The end of Vacation is a kick in the pants," Radar sighed to Ryder.

Ryder agreed but in a way, he was glad to get back to work, "Yeah, I know, but you've got to stay in the fray, you know?"

"A pox on the fray, I want my bed and my girlfriend," Radar sighed.

"Sounds like you were having fun," Ryder grinned.

Radar sighed and looked beyond an invisible horizon, "Fun is an understatement. To think, I would be kicking by buddies' asses in Star Fox Assault right now. Just a week from today, my girlfriend and I were playing Fox and Krystal and we kicked two of my friend's out of a tournament roster. We killed it, you know?"

"What are you talking about?" Ryder asked.

"I'm talkin' GameCube, boss! The greatest system of its generation!" Radar replied, "Sadly swept off because of online gaming. It's a conspiracy, boss. Sony and Microsoft are in it together, I just know it. They're trying to overpower Nintendo after it revolutionized gaming."

"Well Nintendo is like all grandfathers, Radar," Ryder shrugged, "They die."

"Don't say that boss; it makes my blood boil and my eyes leak. I'll admit it: Microsoft makes great consuls; Sony makes some pretty awesome TVs, but you know what? No game has ever made as awesome memories as Nintendo. Nintendo is a king!"

"Kings die too, Radar, and empires end. If they don't then the king has to pass on his crown," Ryder shrugged.

"That will be the day gaming will lose everyone's interest… Again. When will people learn that it's not about the experience or the graphics; it's not about the online capability or the way you can spin around and shoot someone without a scope. It's… it's not even about the time you automatically decided to put the trigger of your C4 charge and got a quad kill. It's about the family, boss, FAMILY! That day when your dad kicks your ass in Super Smash Brothers 64, the day you and your buddies finally beat all nine worlds, and even that day you run around in a forest that has no end… I used to hate that forest."

"Okay, I'm going to go ahead and leave you before you let your nostalgia turn you into a computer," Ryder grinned leaving.

"Mark my words, boss, you'll regret the day Nintendo is gone. You're going to miss the plumber! Video games will never become realistic! Nintendo accepted that long ago! Even the hedgehog is nothing without him!"

Ryder shook his head. Chase, Skye, and Rubble came in at this time. Chase, being the first to come in heard Radar's last few sentences.

He chuckled and asked, "What was he ranting about this time?"

"Nintendo being a forever lasting company," Ryder answered, "Not even empires lasted that long though."

"Empires didn't have loyal fans that aren't oppressed," Chase chuckled again, "Besides, like a loving grandchild, the fans are more than willing to spend millions to save the company than their own country. It's not going to die for a long time."

"Well, that aside, how was vacation?" Ryder asked.

Chase shrugged, "It was great. I needed the extra hours of sleep."

"Well, that's good to hear," Ryder smiled.

"Yeah, well mine's better," Rubble interrupted, "Me and my family, after that snowboarding trip we had, I took them out to the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove all the way in California. A good week there was expensive but it made the family happy."

"Sounds great, Rubble," Smiled Skye, "But, since not everyone has a family it's nice to just stay home and relax."

"Boring," Rubble glanced, "You've got to do something with that free time, you know. Taking the family out was just what I needed. My wife loved me for it. Oh, hey Zuma, how did vacation go?"

Zuma, just now coming in, replied, "Great, Dude! Rosie and I joined all of her brothers and sisters in a trip to England. After that was Germany, France, and lastly, Italy. I've had enough of Europe after that. I told them I was leaving for the rest of my vacation but Rosie came along and we had some fun together. Anyone see Rocky yet. I hear he was supposed to finally get back into the action, dudes. Exciting right?"

"Oh, speaking of which," Radar called, "Here he comes!"

Rocky, along with Kaiser came in with a loud applause, "There he is, the man of the hour."

"Hey guys," Rocky waved, "Hands are all better now. They look like plastic though."

He showed his pals to his friends and got wolf whistles. They did look like plastic, but it didn't hinder his abilities.

"Man, at least your back," Rubble pat his back.

"Yeah, at least," Rocky nodded.

"Is that a Rocky I see?" Everest asked, coming in.

Marshall was following suite, "Hey, Rocky, you're back, man!"

"It took him long enough too," Kaiser chuckled, "The little guy's been taking care of triplets."

"Whoo, hi daddy," Ryder teased.

Rocky scratched his head and laughed, "Yeah, it's not a picnic. But they are pretty nice looking."

"So, the team is back together again, to keep the evil at bay once again," Chase smiled.

"Yeah it looks like everyone's back," Radar said, checking the list.

"And I'm glad to hear it," Ryder smiled, "Okay, everyone, were back in the fray which means two things: reset your mental clock and skill drills. Radar."

"Yes, boss," Radar saluted and stood up straight.

"Get your army off your shoulder and lay on the ground. Congratulations, you're the heaviest member of the team. You get to be the weight for the Cradle Drop Drag."

The team laughed at Radar, who was shaking his head slowly. "That was below the belt, boss. Could just said random selection and be done with it, but no. you had to tell everyone about my weight."

Ryder shrugged, "Couldn't stop myself. I had to see that look." Radar shook his head again and laid on the ground. "Chase you're up."

Chase took hold of Radar and dragged him across the mat. Ryder signaled Marshall to take over, who dragged him back where Chase took him. It went down to Skye, who had a hard time but accomplished it, Rocky, who made another jab about his weight, Zuma, who just laughed, Rubble, having the easiest time, Kaiser, who did well, and Everest, who also did well. Ryder then took his turn, doing just fine, then told Rubble to lay down. He was the second heaviest and was selected for Radar's drill. They went' through various carries and drags then finally got to the gun drills. Each member was to show they were still capable of taking apart, cleaning, and reconstructing, an MP-5, Glock, USP.45, Remington 700, M4, and of course, if they were capable of firing it and providing gun safety. Every step was to be taken and verbalized appropriately. Fortunately, Everyone passed. Ryder signed the papers and delivered them to the office so they could be given a green light to receive calls. Though Ryder was happy to be back, he was also rather sad that vacation was over.

X X X

The voices, the painful voices whispered without end. He had to do something to get them to stop. Every time he slept, every time someone said something to encourage him, he just heard the voices. There were many, too many for him to count. They all were comprehensible though.

 _Just jump, no one will care._

 _She doesn't love you, Bryan. No one does. Your father, your girlfriend, even your own nother. Your alone._

 _Just end it. It'll all stop once you just kill yourself. No one will get hurt. You'll be doing them a favor._

Bryan gripped his head and cried, "Stop! Please!"

He could hear footsteps thundering up to his room. His father stormed in with a worried face, "Bryan, what's wrong?"

"Dad! They won't stop!" He sobbed, "I can't stop hearing them."

His father looked at his medication bottle. Fresh out, "We have to get your medications. Come on, let's see the doctor."

"They don't help! Don't you get it? They won't stop!" Bryan sobbed more, "They never will."

His father sighed and hugged the boy close, "It's going to be okay. We'll find a way. They won't bother you for long."

"You've said that for three years," Bryan sobbed.

His father pet his head and replied, "We have to start somewhere. It's going to be okay."

Bryan finally agreed to see a doctor about this issue, once again, and was prescribed a higher dosage. All the while, the voices were still whispering. When he took his first tablet of resperidone he could hear the voices fade then quiet. He sighed in relief and laid back in his chair.

"That better?" His father asked.

Bryan only nodded in response. He father smiled. "See? What did I tell ya? All better. Come on, let's get some ice cream."

Bryan wasn't sure if he wanted ice cream. He might as well. "Sure."

The two took off together getting a shake and returning home. He couldn't move by the time they got back though.

"Hey, you okay?" Asked his father.

Bryan shook his head, "I want to move but… I don't really fell like it."

His father nodded and approached his door, "It the meds. Doctor said that would happen. I'll help you out."

His father put his arm around his shoulder and got him inside the house. He helped him into his bed to get some sleep too. The drug made him drowsy. A water was also left next to his bedside so he could get something to drink if he woke up with a dry mouth. After a few hours, he did indeed wake up. When he found the strength to move, he grabbed his water and drank the whole bottle down. He then went to his computer and logged into his social media. He entered a chat room and just joined a random conversation. At first, it was normal. A lot of get well soon messages and sorry for your condition went around. One message had grabbed his attention.

 _I'm really sorry that you feel that way, man. Is there anything I can do to help?_

Bryan shrugged and replied, _There's not much for anyone to do. I'm this way for the rest of my life._

There was a pause and the stranger finally replied, _You don't' have to live like that. I work for someone who could help you. You in Adventure Bay City, right? He's around that area. I can send you a ticket via E-mail and they can help you._

Bryan crinkled his eyebrows. His arms started to twitch, making it hard for him to reply, _How can they help?_

The reply was pretty close to instant, _Well, I don't exactly know how but they require a small… favor if you get what I mean. They don't like taking people's money._

Bryan was even more interested, _What kind of favor?_

The helper didn't reply for a minute's time, _It's nothing to worry about. It's mostly… uh… courtesy work, help the orphans sort of thing but… not. I don't know how to explain it but they help people to help people you know?_

That didn't sound too bad. Bryan willingly messaged the guy privately and received the ticket. Meetings were every Monday. Today was Monday. He had two hours to get there. He grabbed another water bottle to bring for the trip and lied about his target location. He had to board a bus and take it for a few trips but he was able to eventually track the meetings down. A man came up and greeted him.

"Can I help you, sir?"

Bryan, hugging his jacket, replied, "Yeah, I'm here for your meetings."

He pulled out the ticket and the man examined it. He scanned a code with his phone and smirked. "Another one, eh? Don't worry, we'll take good care of you. Go on in but don't follow everyone else. Just take the fifth door to your left."

He nodded and thanked the man and followed his instructions. Little did he know that once he entered that door he entered a prison. A prison he wouldn't want to leave.

X X X

Chase filled a cup with water. The drills were pretty intense. Ryder called for everyone to take a break. Sighs of relief traveled all through the team. Chase took full gulps of his water, Marshall soon joining him.

"I didn't think that I would get so out of shape in a month.

Chase laughed. "Yeah, especially you. I thought Everest was keeping you busy."

Marshall mock laughed and shook his head, taking another sip of water. "Keep the conversation rated 'G' please. But no, she didn't. Well, she did, but there were no cardiac exercises."

Chase laughed to himself and leaned against the counter. "Yup, sure."

"Just leave it alone. So, other than Skye's P.T.S.D issue at the beginning of break, what happened on your end?"

"Well, I lost all will to fight back. Leave that to your imagination. For the most part we did coping activities. She's better than before, but… she's a little more hesitant to pull a trigger at the firing range."

Marshall leaned alongside him and added, "I noticed. I guess that's a good thing. It means she's not a monster like us, you know."

Chase scoffed and shook his head. "Yeah."

The conversation was left little room to expand. They shared a sigh and tried to find an alternative topic. Fortunately, they didn't have to when Rocky stroked up a new conversation while getting some water, "You know, I think my hands are starting to remember their purpose."

"Hey! He's coming back already!" Marshall exclaimed, "It's good to see you still exercising them. They'll only get back to shape when you mold them."

Rocky scoffed and took a drink of water, "No joke. You know, those times at home actually taught me something."

"Yeah? What's that?" Chase asked drinking some water.

"I'm doggy trained." Both men choked on their water and started laughing at Rocky.

"You're what?" Marshall asked.

"Nope, I'm serious; I am an obediently trained man. My wife was bragging to her friends about how I did everything she asked me to because we have this agreement, see. I do what she asks me so and I get to keep this job."

Kaiser spontaneously appeared and pat Rocky's back. "Bro, that's like saying she _lets_ you use the bathroom."

"Yeah, or she _lets_ you get her Chinese food every Tuesday because you love her." Chase added.

Marshall was the last to add his two cents, "Yeah and she _lets_ you eat Chase's soup."

"No one lets me eat that soup! I can have that on my own free will!" Rocky rebuked. The men laughed.

"She from Texas by any chance?" Kaiser asked.

"Yeah, why?" Rocky asked giving his a stink eye.

"That explains it," Kaiser chuckled, "Rocky, my dear brother, you are indeed her very own trained man. I imagine she's probably the head of the house too."

"No, we share that title. It's still kinda iffy who is top dog, but we don't need to decide that when I'm barely home."

"The way you talk about her makes her sound like she's going to divorce you any minute," Chase chuckled.

Rocky sputtered and waved his arm, "No way, she and I would never divorce. She's a whole lot cooler headed not that she's no longer eight months pregnant. But still, she can be a real…toots. I don't know. She's beautiful, and a wonderful wife, very supportive, but she's just got that…attitude."

"Mm, I know what you mean. My sister is the same way," Marshall shook his head, "She's always gotta tell me what for."

"My brother probably thinks the same thing." Chase took another drink of water.

"Oh yeah? You the grumpy big bro who's gotta have it right?" Rocky asked

"No, I'm the badass big brother who doesn't tolerate his kid brother being a wuss. He's in law enforcement; he's going to act like it. I'd rather him be the bad cop than be the soft good cop."

Marshall shuttered. "Now he's sounding like Chief."

"Is he a badass too?" Rocky asked.

"He's a freakin' Black Ops what do you think?" Marshall eyed him, "He was really something too. Take Daryl Dixon's brother and make him less of a woman fisher with twice the muscle and two feet higher and you got him."

"That sounds like a body builder with a bad attitude," Kaiser jested with a drink of his water.

"Ey, it's no joke. He's a seven foot tall, four foot wide guy who's as flexible and s rhythmic gymnast. He was crazy about body shape back in the day. He dreamed about being a super soldier and here he is."

"Sounds like a Spartan to me," Radar said barging into the conversation.

"Yeah, Rome would love to have him," Marshall chuckled before taking another sip of water.

"No, I mean a Halo Spartan. You know, Master Chief, Noble six? Ring a bell?"

He was looked at like an idiot. Rocky eventually go the hint, "Oh yeah. Halo. Yeah, that game was five years ago, buddy."

"What? Well, actually it depends on which one you're talking about. I mean, ODST was pretty good if you ask me."

Marshall and Chase looked at each other, "ODST?"

Radar was quick to answer, "Orbital Shock Drop Trooper. Helljumpers, they call 'em. They, in my opinion are more fun to play than a Spartan."

"Pft, they sound like the Airborne," Chase sputtered.

"Yeah, they were probably inspired by the Airborne, no doubt, but they have a better drop method."

"Let's pack it up! Back to drills!" Ryder called.

"Copy that, boss!" Chase saluted, "Let's move, boys!"

X X X

Three teenagers tried to make their way down the ladder in the sewer system, but the bomb vests were so heavy. They struggled climbing down without getting so weighed down. As soon as they touched the ground they took out their map, covering their nose and mouth.

"They said this shit would be easy to read, what the hell is this?" shouted one with a blue hoody.

"Give it to me." one of his partners, who wore a green hoody, snatched the map and looked at it. "You dumbass! You have it upside down, can't you read?"

"Shut up, man! I'm talking about the damn lines and stuff. Look at that and tell me you can get us below the bank!"

The second looked at the map and was dead silent. He wanted to say he could but he had no idea what the map was trying to indicate.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Look who the dumbass is now, dumbass."

"Both of you stop!" Bryan, being the third, was getting tired of hearing the constant shouting from the two partners. "Here let me see. We're here, we go this way."

"How do you know?" asked the first with the blue hoody.

"I studied civil engineering. I want to be one when I graduate." He replied.

"Pft, you ain't going to graduate any time soon, pal. If the cops don't shoot you the bombs gonna blow your ass up." laughed the second.

"Yeah, man, if you wanted to graduate then you shoulda skipped out on this shit when you had a chance." The blue hoody agreed.

"Just…shut up guys." He told them guiding them through the sewers.

The journey was made most of making fun of Bryan and his dream. When they finally met their target they sprang to action. Many of the bombs were attached as far above their heads as possible. If they could get to the ceiling they would have attached them there. With the current equipment that was impossible. Bryan was hesitant to help. But if he survived this, he would be rid of these terrible voices in his head.

"Okay, that's all of them. How's your vest look?" Asked the blue hood to Bryan.

"Just to the bomb vest," he replied. The other was much like the same.

"Okay, let's get the hell out of here."

The teenagers climbed the bank ladder and worked their way up to the public. They put on masks and the first shouted to the crowed. "Everyone get on the floor!"

He fired off a side arm to declare authority. Security tried to counter with their firearms only to get mowed down by SMG fire. Fifteen teenagers had come to join them. There were five adults with them that had actual hardware and heavier weaponry. Many of the crowed were also shot down. Bryan hid trying to find a way to escape. He couldn't shoot them. He didn't want to do any of this.

"Hey, come on, man let's go!" said the green hoody, "You signed up for this, you ain't backin' out."

Bryan was forced out of his place and thrown out into the open. Police had already come and started countering the attack. One of the hardwared terrorists grabbed a grenade and threw it at the cars. The police backed out, some losing their lives and calling in help.

X

A strange alarm rang through the halls of the entire PAWS HQ. It wasn't the usual alarm. Everyone stopped what they were doing and listened to the a calm voice call out to each squad room, "All squads, mobilize immediately and deploy to Adventure Bay Federal Ethnics Building and the Bank of Adventure Bay. This is a code Anna, repeat Code Anna."

The voice repeated the phrase over and over. Alpha immediately geared up and armed.

"Code Anna? What the hell is that?" Kaiser shouted grabbing an AR-15 and tossing it to Ryder.

Ryder caught it and slammed a thirty-round inside of it. "Emergency counters-terrorist protocol! We've got a mini-war we need to take care of."

"Damn it, I thought I left the war behind," Marshall growled picking up a Remington 700.

"I'll take that." Someone took the rifle from his hands. The squad looked over at the new figure. Everest's eyes would have popped if it were possible.

"Who are you?"

"Your new team member," Answered Jake coming in, "I would be formal but your job got in the way. All you need to know is that his name is Ty Pierce, just moved in from the SEALs and is the best shot you'll have I this team. Just let him do his job, you do yours and you'll get this thing under control."

Ty armed the Remington and saluted Ryder, "It'll be an honor to work with you sir."

Ryder sighed nodded at his team who continued their arming process. Marshall grabbed an M4 that was also taken from his hands.

"Not this time, Marshall, you'll need your hands free. You're the only paramedic in the entire service. Sidearm only." Ryder gave the M4 to Everest and picked up a glock. He tried handing to Marshall but Marshall didn't take it.

Instead, he pulled out his .500 and replied, "Alright then." Marshall spun the cartridge and put it back into place before holstering the revolver and walking away. Ryder chuckled and put the glock down. The team finished and mobilized immediately. The entire PAWS was racing down like a made line of black taking over the streets. No one had ever seen such a long line of trucks and vans. When they got there, they were immediately fired at.

Chase turned his wheel feeling a bullet his armor. "Shit!"

The rest of the vehicles pulled back or created a perimeter. The PAWS unpacked and fired back. Rocky, Rubble, Zuma, and the new member, Ty, were still moving when their tire was hit. They spun out for a moment before crashing. There was no permanent damage but they were losing a chance to live every minute they stayed.

"Damn, they got us cornered!" Rocky shouted firing his M4.

Ty cocked the Remington and shouted, "Move, I've got this."

He kicked open the door and fired a shot hitting his mark. Rubble rolled out of the vehicle and shot a suppressing barrage while Zuma and Rocky pulled out and took cover near a sidewalk vase. Ty walked out last keeping low and firing two more shots. Rubble moved behind him. The two reached safety with their other car mates.

" _Ryder to Zuma, can you read?_ "

"Zuma, loud in clear, we're in a bit of a fix."

" _I see that. The PAWS is spreading out and we've been put in charge of this one. Charlie and Delta is backing us up. We'll cover you, make a run for when you can._ "

"Are you serious?" Zuma asked firing his weapon at a few armed hostiles.

" _Yes, I'm serious. Ready?_ "

"Hell no! But yeah!"

" _Alright, tell the others and we'll give you the signal._ " Ryder ended the call.

Zuma turned around and shouted, "We're going to make a run for the other vans! They'll cover us!"

"Are they insane? Wait, what the hell is that?" Rocky pointed at a group of three teenagers messing with a stand and two of them bringing what looked like a chain gun.

Ty slowly moved his head from his scope and widened his eyes. "That's an M134D move it! Go!"

He stayed behind a few feet as the three other operatives ran for the vans. Ty shot one of the teenagers assembling the weapon. He cocked the rifle again and shot another. Where one went down another took their place. Finally it was assembled cuing him to take cover. The gun went off forcing everyone to hit the floor. The gun tor up everything it hit. Two operatives from Delta lost their lives.

"We got two men down! I repeat, two men down! I need a medic!" shouted the leader of Delta. Dyke was his name. "Who did they hit?"

One of his operatives tried to shout back, but the gun was keeping them from getting any communication across accept via com. Marshall crawled over and checked their tags and pulses. No pulse, no breathing, they were gone. Gomez and N'zanna were gone. He took their tags and crawled away. He gave them to Dyke who stared at them before putting them in his vest pocket.

Marshall then crawled to Ryder, "Do these guys think we're the SWAT?"

Ryder smiled. "You sound like you've got something in mind."

"Ty, Chase, you and I are the best shots in the group. If we can get Rubble or somebody to that crashed car…"

The mini gun was passing over their heads again. The two dropped to their bellies and covered their heads. Marshall yelled louder so he could be heard. "If we can get somebody to that crashed car they can get in the back and find the LAW!"

Ryder barely heard him but with the bits and pieces he could he understood what Marshall was saying. Though law enforcement was supposed to carry light weaponry, the PAWS was a ten year experiment and part of the it was if law enforcement were better off having heavy arms for moments similar to this. A law rocket was thus provided for each van. However the rules to engage with a LAW were so strict that the force might as well not have the rocket at all but here they were.

"That sounds good! Get Chase and Ty and we'll make our way to the opposite side of the van. Skye!"

"Here, Boss," She shouted, "We're pinned by that stupid gun!"

Ryder covered his head again. The gun made sweeps often."We're going to provide covering fire, we need you to run to the crashed van!"

Skye got a peak of the gun and everything with guns next to it. "Are you insane?"

"We don't have anything to compete with that gun unless we dig into that van. It's the only one that hasn't been torn up yet!"

Skye peaked over again and groaned. The van was exposed and those kids could get a shot on her easily.

"Boss, were ready."

Skye's heart rate picked up as Ryder crawled passed some of Charlie's and Delta's squad members. She waited as close to the van as possible. Her body began to shake while her respiratory rate was now picking up in compensation of the heart rate.

"Okay, Ready?"

"No."

"One."

"Boss, this is a bad idea."

"Two."

"The gun is running my way!"

"Ty'll get it. Three."

"How am I supposed to…"

"Go! Now!"

Ty was the first top pop out, just barely hitting the gunner in time for the other three to open fire. As soon as the gun stopped Skye took off at as a speed she never knew she could reach. She drove over the greenery platform and hid there as a barrage chased her. Someone tried to take over the gun but they were stopped by Ty. Skye dove for the van's open door and dug in to the back of the van. She shut the door and took cover as soon as she realized she was still vulnerable.

"'Look for a freaking LAW rocket,' he says and I where the hell would that be? I'm in the back of a van that was supposed to have everything within easy access and I can barely reach the damn flares!"

Skye ducked hearing a bullet whiz passed her head. She cursed strongly a few times and hyperventilated before going for another dig in the back. She found extra flash bangs, rams, and a couple of extra vests for civilian personnel or others. She could still barely reach the flares though. And the LAW was nowhere to be scene. She heard some bullets hit the van again making her duck and fall between the front and back seats. She prayed that the minigun was still being covered. Just then, she noticed a grip indent on the bottom of the chairs. She grabbed it and lifted and there, before her, was the LAW rocket… indecently some flares happened to be with it as well.

"What the… I'm going to kill the son of a bitch who modeled this thing. She picked up the small rocket launcher and rolled behind cover."

"I found it, now what?" She asked.

"Open it and blow that gun up! They got it manned again. Hurry!"

She growled and pulled the pin then pulled the launcher apart until it clicked into place and messed with a few slides to ready the weapon.

Skye popped her neck and whispered to herself, "I guess it's a good day to be a marine."

She popped her whole body out of cover and aimed carefully before pushing the button and engaging the fast moving rocket. She had forgotten how loud it was. And how big the explosion could be. She ended up falling back against the van. As she roused her hand came up to sooth a headache that briefly struck. Marshall and Chase were running towards her.

Chase called her name a couple of times hoping she'd look at him and be alright. "Please tell me she's okay."

Marshall did his classic slide, a habit he never broke when approaching his patient on the field, "She's a marine, Chase, how do you think she is?" Marshall flipped up his screen and looked up and down her body, "She's fine, just winded. Right, Skye?"

Skye put up an okay sign and replied, "Sergeant Heffron, A-Ok, sir."

"Atta girl, let's get her up." Marshall grabbed one of her arms as Chase grabbed the other one.

"Chase, Marshall, Skye, stack up! Chase, you're point man; Marshall, in the middle; Skye, take the back!" Chase pat Skye's back and wished her luck as he took his place, Marshall following suite. She coughed for some air and took out her USP.45. She didn't have time to find out where her SMG flew off to. She joined the back line of Alpha's line which was ahead of Charlie and Delta.

The three teams carefully entered the bank utilizing the rubble as cover to ensure safe entry. Not long after entry a bullet whizzed by Chase's head. His reaction caused everyone to take cover.

"Contact! Second floor, right side, on the balcony!"

"Copy that, Right side balcony," Ty took the Remington and went for a shot but a bullet hit him from behind and tossed him over his stone cover.

"Son of a bitch, we've got another contact left side second floor office window! LMG!" Chase shouted firing at the ones in the balcony after a brief scan. "Damn it, Ty, run for it!"

Ty flipped himself up, ditching his rifle and started rolling since he was starting to get a lot of heat. He got himself up as fast as he could and grabbed a hidden knife from his wrist area.

"Stop it!" With that his knife flew right into the LMG's window and into its handlers head. Despite the armoring the knife hit just right that the carotid artery was struck. Ty was finally in cover getting a breather from the three bullets he had collected from his endeavor. Unfortunately, no one saw his accomplishment and the LMG got a new operator.

Marshall made motions to ask if he was alright. Ty nodded and put a thumb up to confirm. He nodded and gave Ryder the message.

Dyke, examining Ty's position, realized all three teams couldn't fit into the entrance. He approached Ryder and shouted, "We can't all fit in and get a beat on everyone! My team is going to race to those desks where your man is at if you can cover us. Might have some flexibility! Probably could get a rifle to him too."

Carlos also came up to Ryder with a suggestion. "That would give my team some time to get up the stairs and clear those guys out."

"Alright, just make sure Ty's green before you tell him to do anything. I notify him."

While Ryder was getting the message across Dyke sent two of his men to get a rifle and ammo for Ty and brief his team. As soon as everything was set Dyke gave Ryder the signal.

Ryder got his team's attention and asked, "Alright, team, ready?"

Each member gave an the ok and popped out of cover to give out suppressing fire. The LMG was forced to stop and some of the teenagers being used for the attack were diving into cover if they hadn't been taken out. Still, some were charging after them to what seemed like a suicide attack.

Delta broke into a run towards Ty's location. As soon as they reached the edge of the desk line they dived over and lied flat. One of them handed an AR-15 to Ty.

"You think you can use that?"

"I was shooting something longer than this a second ago what makes you think I can't use this?" Ty shouted.

"It's just a joke, Rookie," Laughed the gifter. His friend, by him laughed with him.

Ty brought a hand to his eat piece, "Boss, they made it over."

"Good thing too because the LMG found out it only takes on hand to operate the thing. Charlie is ready to move up the stairs so get ready to cover them."

"Roger that."

Ryder turned and faced Charlie. They shared signs of confirmation and Charlie got into position.

Rubble grabbed Tracker's shoulder. "Hey, Tracker!"

"Yeah?"

"Aim high this time okay?"

"This again, Amigo? It was one time!"

Everest laying flat behind her cover shouted, "What are you boys ranting about now?"

"It's an inside joke," Tracker replied, "That we don't have time for!"

Rubble put his hands up after returning to cover, "Okay okay, I couldn't help it."

"Are you talking about the time Tracker literally blew the balls off that one guy back in 2017?" Zuma asked.

"You what now?" Skye shouted.

"There are women here, Zuma!" Carlos shouted.

Ryder, noticed the LMG was out of ammo and took the opportunity. "Okay! You've got an opening go go go!"

Charlie team rushed out into the heat zone and climbed the stairs, taking out any teenager that wouldn't stand down. As soon as they reached the top they found a whole new group waiting for them. Charlie wasn't the best team but they certainly didn't need to be to make their way through the halls and rooms. One by one, they began to clear the huge marble building finally getting to the nesting office that was giving Alpha and Delta trouble. Tracker placed himself in front of the door and looked at his team. They gave a nod and the door was kicked down. Everyone started shouting to get them on the floor and stay put. Fortunately, no one put up a fight. As soon as the shooting stopped. Alpha and Delta made their way up.

"Nice job, Charlie," Ryder fist pumped Carlos but the celebration was short lived.

" _Bravo calling any unengaged teams. We need backup! Foxtrot is inside the Ethnics building and needs help but we can't get to them. Be advised, hostiles are using trip wires, bouncing betties, suicide bombers, and have over a thousand citizens in the building. Foxtrot has spotted a bomb inside but cannot reach it!_ "

"Alpha team to Bravo, we're on our way!"

"Charlie to Bravo, we hear you and are responding immediately."

Ryder stopped Dyke from responding. "Wait, Dyke, get these kids secured and watch them, okay? See if they got any bomb vests too."

"This one does," Said one of Dyke's team members.

Rocky made his way over, "Let me see what we have. Yeah, based on the damage I'd say I expected this. C4 bombs. Fortunately, easily disarmed with just…" Rocky pulled rod out of the clay and smiled. "A little pull. Now that bomb that Foxtrot might have spotted is probably going to be different."

Ryder nodded and called Foxtrot, "Alpha to Foxtrot, can you identify the bomb?"

"Negative, our Bomb expert is down! We lost him when we got in. Please hurry and get the hell in here I've only got three guys left and they're all over the place!"

Ryder nodded and waved him to over already beginning to move. "We're on it! Alpha, Charlie, let's go!"

The two teams raced out of the building and over to the Ethnics building. The entire P.A.W.S, excluding Foxtrot and Delta was present turning the entire street of blood and bodies into a full on warzone.

"Shit, it looks like Syria out here!" Marshall shouted.

Radar looked at Marshall with horror, "This looks like Syria? How did you get out of there doc!"

"Why do you think I believe in God?" Marshall shouted taking cover.

"Well, Marshall, it's time to bring out that side out. What would you do right now if you were there?" Ryder asked.

"I've got a team, They're all facing the front, we can get around toward the back and break that door down."

"How the hell did they get in there without being noticed? People reported they came out of nowhere right?" Chase asked.

Marshall bit his lips and asked, "How long have these buildings been here?"

Rubble, catching on, exclaimed, "The sewer system!"

"Exactly. A while ago, buildings were made with entrances to the sewer at the bottom floor. If this building is that old, we can use that as a entrance point," Marshall explained.

"Good plan, but, how are we going to track through the sewers and know where we're going?" Kaiser asked.

"Kaiser has a point," Ryder said as he scratched his head.

"So, we're going to have get the schematics, but how are we going to do that?" Everest's question left everyone thinking.

"We could probably get an electronic copy," Radar suggested.

"How?" Skye asked, "Your van got totaled.

"Point taken, but I still have my pack. The electronic copy shouldn't be too hard to get. Let me see." Radar called his pack to give him his computer pad and started to type. "If I can get the HQ to send me a copy it should be even easier." Radar pressed his earpiece and said, "Alpha to HQ, this is Radar. I need a map to the sewers over."

" _Negative, Alpha, there is an investigation being run, the sewer map has been deleted electronically and any paper copy has disappeared over._ "

"Explain, _any_ meaning _all_ over?"

"That is correct over."

Ryder sighed and kicked a nearby can that was conveniently littered on the cement. "Damn it."

"Now how are we supposed to get in there?" Rocky dropped his head.

" _Bravo to Alpha where are you? Foxtrot is getting impatient!_ "

Ryder touched his earpiece and replied, "We're here and engaging but we're unable to find a way in. Charlie is with you, correct."

"Hey! Hey!"

" _Yeah, we have them but…_ "

"Wait hold on, I hear something," Ryder stopped Bravo's leader mid sentence. Everyone else started looking as well. A random, unrecognized voice started shouting at the team. "I'm not the only one who heard that right?"

"No, I heard it too," Marshall said also looking around.

"I'm over here!" A kid started running towards them. He looked like the other teenagers that were attacking the buildings. He wasn't armed though.

X X X

Bryan took cover in the office with some of the other teenagers along with a hardwared terrorist with an LMG.

"What the hell did they use? You said these guys were just the fucking SWAT!" Shouted the green hoody.

"We only were able to get so much information on them, there was no telling they had rocket launchers!" Shouted the terrorist.

"What kind of a SWAT carries Rocket launchers. They didn't send the SWAT they sent the fucking army!" the blue hoody shouted.

"Just shut up and get ready for them to come!" The terrorist screamed while setting up the LMG. They waited for the team to come. The teenagers from the stair case on the opposite side of the bank waited for them to come. It wasn't long when they started. One of them peaked out with a sniper rifle. Bray watched as the poor soul was tossed over the stone rubble when the heavy LMG bullets hit his vest. He tried rolling away and eventual recovered, throwing a knife that went through the glass and into the shooter's through.

"Holy Shit! This ain't the army it's the fucking SEALs!"

One of them took over and started shooting. Bryan realized that none of them were paying any attention to him and started crawling back to the door. He saw a fire exit on the way here. He could use it to escape and pretend none of this happened. Then he realized he still had the bomb vest and no understanding of how it worked. He could hear the voices as they told him just to give up and become like the others who died or used their vests to try to blow the team up. He gripped his head as they got louder.

"No! No more. Just shut up!" He ignored them as they tried and tried to convince him to do otherwise but he didn't listen. He finally reached the fire exit, looking around and ensuring no one was following. He then used the escape to get away from the building. He walked through the alley way hiding from two operatives who had come out of the bank and harvested a rifle and some ammo from two dead bodies. He watched as one of the other operatives hesitated to leave.

"Becket, we gotta go, buddy!" Said one of them.

"Just give me a second."

"I want to but we can't, we've gotta help that guy from Alpha." Becket, stood up and reluctantly went with his teammate, "That's it, we'll come back for them later. I miss them too."

Bryan wanted to cry. All he wanted was some help, to get rid of these voices. Instead he became a part of a mass murder.

" _You're a murder, Bryan. Nothing but a coward and a traitor. Nothing but a coward and a traitor. You don't deserve help._ " He gripped his head as the voice spoke to him, hurtfully. He shook his head and ran. He ran where he could just hide. Hide and wait for this nightmare to end or for the bomb to go off. It was a matter of time, after all. For them to figure it out and blow him up. He just had to sit here and wait. He could still hear from the distance the gun fire and the yelling. It might as well be a battle. He tucked his legs and cried.

"Why? All I wanted was some help. Why did he do this to me?" That stupid person online... He knew he shouldn't have listened, but he was so desperate he didn't know what to do. He was practically doomed to sit and listen to the voices talk to him about what a bad person he was. He didn't know how long he sat there but it was long enough to hear the response teams run out of the bank and to the other building under attack just yards away. He didn't know why, but he wanted to follow them. He wanted to see them work. He followed the teams to the Adventure Bay Federal Ethnics Building. They stopped in front of the cars and took cover in them. Most of the terrorist group had come here. The plan was they were to shepherd a large majority of the citizens inside and let the bomb take them. What kind of bomb, he didn't know, but it was huge. How they got it in was beyond him.

He listened to their conversation. There were inserts about Syria, a few details about getting in to the building, but then the sewers were mentioned. Bryan's eye widened. He still had the layout! He dug into his hoody pocket and pulled out the layout. The voices began to shout at him. They reasoned why he shouldn't. After all, he was one of them. A terrorist. He had no hopes of surviving after getting their attention. For all he knew they would shoot him…But he had to try.

"We're here and engaging, but we're unable to find a way in. Charlie is with you, correct?"

Bryan ducked in cover as some bullets started hitting the cars besides him. Now the voices were telling him to turn back. But he couldn't he had to help, he needed to do this. They weren't in charge anymore. "Hey! Hey!" He didn't know why he shouted. Probably to make the voices as angry as he possibly could.

"Wait hold on, I hear something," One of them said looking around. "I'm not the only one who heard that right?"

"No, I heard it too," Said another

"I'm over here!" He started running and waving hoping they wouldn't shoot. He was surprised they weren't even aiming at him. Instead they looked at each other, bewildered.

X X X

"Kid, what are you doing here?" Everest asked, "Everyone was evacuated from the area."

"Wait, listen, I'm a part of that group that was attacking." He stopped anyone from talking since a bunch of voices were about to come in at him at once. "Just listen, please! I have the map."

He gave the map to Rubble who looked it over and nodded, "Yup this is it. How did you get this, uh, what's your name?"

"Bryan," He replied.

"How did you get this, Bryan?"

"I told you I…" Bryan stated breaking up, "I'm one of them. But I don't want to be. There forcing us to do it. All we wanted was help."

"Help? For what?" Marshall asked.

"These…voices. They keep on going on and on in my head and they won't… stop!" He gripped his head and tried not to cry.

"Bryan? Stay with us, Bryan; we need your help; why is this happening?" Ryder asked looking at Marshall.

"Schizophrenia, looks like he's got a bad case."

"They didn't say. They just said if we didn't they would kill us. They tied these on us before we knew it." He unzipped his hoody to reveal the same C4 bomb that was on one of the teenagers. "Some of us don't because they've been in the group by choice. They wanted to do this."

"Rocky," Ryder motioned at Bryan.

Rocky approached and smiled, "Listen kid, here's a life lesson should it ever come again. You see a bomb like this, it's C4. And Fortunatly, C4 can be dissamred as easily as…" Rocky pulled the rod out of the clay, "…This. Keep that in mind."

Bryan felt a wave of relief wash over him as the bomb was no longer threatening his life. "Thank you."

"Don' mention it, here let's get this off of ya," Rocky assisted with pulling off the vest. "Now, about this attack. Is there anything else you can tell us?"

"I could write a book!" Bryan exclaimed, "I don't know how they are but they disguised themselves as a some sort of charity. I met a guy online. He led me over there and got me mixed up into this. They are targeting these buildings to make an entrance. I don't why but there declaring war on America. And there using us as the weapon."

"Twisted sons of bitches!" Ty gripped his rifle and looked back at the building.

"What skin color?"

"Everything. They're complete mix of race and sex."

"Men _and_ women?" Skye asked.

Bryan nodded.

"Man, these guys can't be your usual terrorist group. But it sounds… familiar…" Ryder tried to think. Why was that familiar? Was it in his SEAL days?

"They had three different leaders all women though." Bryan added.

"This isn't extremism then… unless they changed their tactics?" Radar looked at Ryder.

"Bryan? Can you tell anything on where they placed bombs?" Ryder asked.

Bryan nodded and replied, "I can tell you where I placed mine. Where they placed theirs I have no idea."

"Where's yours?" Chase asked.

"Under the bank."

"Under the bank!" Ryder exclaimed.

Bryan nodded again, "Yeah."

Ryder immediately contacted Delta about the situation. Chase continued the questioning, "What about the trip wires?"

"They could be anywhere out here. I suggest looking at your feet as often as you can. I think they may have booby trapped the sewer entrances too. The wire is really thin but you can see it if you use an L.E.D. They made is so they could escape in the sewer system. Just in case some of us decided to rebel and them elsewhere."

"And bouncing betties?" Zuma asked.

"Used with the tripwires." Answered Bryan.

Ryder came back after making contact with Delta, "Fortunately, Delta was able to get out on time, the bomb hasn't gone off yet. Do you know when it should go?"

"Um… twenty minutes now, I think. It's supposed to go off at a certain time. Do you have a watch?"

"Here," Marshall showed him his wrist.

"Nineteen minutes now."

"Okay, I'll let Delta know, Alpha were going for the sewers. Chase, see if Foxtrots holding on, Everest contact Brave give them an update see if they're vans are still alive, Rubble, looked the map over, you've got some skill in civil engineering. Let's move, team."

The team did they're separate objectives also finding a sewage entrance. Rocky used his crowbar to pry it open and with Rubble got it open. They were welcomed by a spider-web-ish surprise.

"What the hell." Zuma carefully stuck his head in and spotted blinking red dots. "Is this a motel for suicidal spiders or something?"

"I knew it, they did trap the entrances!" Bryan exclaimed.

"Boss, Bravo says their vans been used up except for the non-pertinent supplies and the LAW rockets. Echo are the same way. Apparently, we fired off an unsanctioned rocket too." Everest leaned to one side.

"Unsanctioned?" Ryder asked, "You mean we need authorization for LAW use?"

"That's correct," Said Bravo's leader, "I came over to check up on your entrance. So that explosion forty-five minutes was you?"

"Which one?" Ryder asked.

"Yeah, I don't blame you. I've been trying to get authorization but they don't think it's necessary and are forcing me to stand down from rocket use. I shoulda done what you did and forgot."

"They had an M134, what were we supposed to do?" Ryder shrugged.

"Yeah… doesn't look like you have this entrance, huh?"

"Bryan? Can we cut 'em?"

"They said their real wires so if we cut them it'll spark the betty and blow it anyway."

"No, we do not have this entrance." Ryder sighed. "Bryan can we enter around back?"

"Probably, if you don't hit a wire, yeah."

"If we don't…!" Ryder was already cursing the proficiency of this group. "What all have they done to the place?"

"I can't even tell you anymore," Bryan replied, "I only did a sixteenth of the work. And that's plant a bomb under the bank. I barely picked up the bits and pieces about trip wires and stuff."

"The kids spent, boss. Maybe we should just let him go. He's done everything he can." Radar pat Bryan's back.

Bryan shook his head, "No, I want to help, I can still help. There's more I just need to be reminded."

"Bryan, you have voices in your head and you've helped as much as you can, we're not going to tear you apart just to grab details you can barely remember."

"No, please, I can't hear them when I'm doing this. I'm thinking so hard I can't hear them right now. Please I need this, don't take this away from me. I don't want to hear them again."

Ryder stared at him. He then looked at his team and Bravo's leader, who gave him a shrug. "He looks like a smart kid, Alpha one. Besides, it's helping him out."

Ryder nodded and looked over at Bryan, "Okay, well, I'd hate to say it kid, but I'm stumped on getting in there. Foxtrot is in trouble and it kills me to know I can't reach them. You've been on both sides of this equation. Is there any way to factor it?"

Bryan looked down and bounced his hand for a while. When he looked up he asked, "Do you think the LMG in the bank still works?"

Ryder looked at Skye. She shrugged and chuckled, "I aimed high!"

"I think it just might." Ryder grinned looking at Rubble.

Rubble sighed and said, "I'm certified but I need authorization."

"Screw it, we don't have time, we've got fifteen minutes before a bomb goes off, that's all the authorization we need. Get suited up; Radar, override the authorization firewall; Chase, Rocky, Zuma, get the LMG; Everest, go with Ty and get a Remington and all the ammo you can, he's on sniper duty; Ty you know what to do once that's done; Kaiser, get a shield, your point man, and Skye… get the LAW. "

Ty grinned, giving Ryder his gun strap, and commented, "If I'd've known you guys were this much fun I'd join sooner."

"Welcome to the Alpha, Ty." Ryder didn't smile but the welcome was written all over his face.

Bryan looked around and asked, "Listen, is there anything I can do to help? I'm sure I can still do it."

Ryder placed a hand on his shoulder, "Stay with Ty and provide any info you remember."

Bryan nodded and stood out of the way of the moving operatives.

"Putting me on point, you sure about that?" Kaiser asked.

"You've got CIA combat skills, perfect for CQB, I've read your file. If someone gets close, drop them."

"Well if you put it that way," Kaiser said running off to one of the trucks and getting a shield.

"Boss, if I do this, the big man's pack is going to be screwed up. You sure?"

Ryder flicked his hand and nodded, "Positive, he needs all the protection he can get. You still need something Bravo one?"

"No, I'll let the other teams know what's happening. Give 'em hell Alpha six!" Bravo one shouted.

Rubble put a hand up to comply. The armor extended from the bag. Ryder and Radar assisted with clipping it on.

"Watch the clothing, if this things isn't on properly he'll get screwed for sure." Ryder warned.

"You mean I'm not screwed now?" Rubble asked.

"No comment," Radar said making the two glare at him, "Just saying."

Ryder finished with the left leg and went up to the right, "Think of it this way: your kids would love to see you like this. And you have a story for them when you get back."

"If I get back." Rubble exhaled.

"I said, 'when,' Rubble, 'if' is practically incorrect here."

"Boss, we have the gun. Its only got a few hundred rounds left though and two drums." Zuma reported.

"That's all we need."

"Got the rifle," Ty cocked the Remington 700.

"Set up in the best place you deem possible. Chase, you get a Remington too. The two of you need to share ammo so be picky about your shot."

"Copy that boss."

"Everyone else, we're setting up for entrance. Marshall, contact Charlie, tell them to get around back, the civies will be coming to them."

"Copy."

"I've got the LAW," Skye smiled pulling it apart. A satisfying click told her it was armed.

"Ready Rubble?"

Rubble loaded the ammo in his pack, and put on his helmet, "Yup and as fucked as ever." He cocked the LMG, "It's been a while, boss!"

"It'll be fine, don't worry. Ready? Good. Skye, fire!"

Skye aimed the rocket at the entrance. The explosion was just as surprising to the terrorists as it was to the PAWS operatives.

"Go Rubble, go!"

"Here comes nothing!" Rubble took off through the cars and got in front of the stairs. Only then did he start firing. Chase and Ty kept watchful eyes for any peakers getting out of cover just enough for a dead shot.

"You think you can get more than me?" Chase asked firing a shot.

"Damn straight. You looking at the best shot in Delta."

Chase chuckled and counted, "Funny, that's what they used to call me."

Ty and Chase looked at each other. There was a lock of eyes between marksman.

"May the better best-shot win." Ty grinned.

Chase chuckled and returned to his scope."You're on."

"Team, ready? The entrance is almost clear. They'll be pouring out if they have the guts but if they don't we can make our entrance."

The call went through. And the team, except those already engaged, got close to where the other PAWS operatives were and waited. As soon as Rubble's gun stopped Kaiser examined the entrance and asked for an all clear from Rubble. Rubble gave the ok sign and the team moved in.

"Bravo, Delta, Echo, cover the exits! Charlie, in position?"

"Affirmative, Ryder, My team is positioned and under engagement. We'll have it clear by the time you get those civilians out."

"Copy that, out."

"Bravo to Alpha, recommend you rescue Foxtrot before the civilians they're in immediate danger, the civilians have heavy casualties."

"Moving on their position now! Come on, team, let's give these guys a proper welcome to Adventure Bay."

Kaiser led the group after Rubble who cleared out several rooms before running out of the LMG. To remedy Rubble's weapon problem, Kaiser sacrificed his rifle. He was stuck using his Glock thanks to the shield. Rubble would then be placed behind Kaiser. Someone had popped out around a corner to try and take as many as he could with hit bomb, but since Rocky had taught how simple C4 was to disarm, Kaiser was quickly able to pull the rod, strike the suicide bomber's throat, and force him on his knees. Zuma cuffed him and told the team to move on without him. All he needed to do was get the teenager and bring him to the other teams then report back.

The team moved on to Foxtrot's identified location. The hall was completely torn up with bullets and bodies all over the place. Marshall checked three of the bodies identified as Operatives and confirmed their death, taking their tags.

"Damn, it's like FEAR 2 all over again." Radar commented examining the bloodied hall.

"Not now with the references, Radar. Foxtrot! This is Alpha identify your location!" No one answered so Ryder tried again. "Foxtrot are you there. Confirm you are green."

No one answered still. Ryder motioned for the team to check the rooms. They split into teams of two until Marshall and Rubble opened the last door. When they checked inside they had found their lost team. Foxtrot one was still breathing but barely.

"Carth, are you alright?" Ryder asked. Marshall started stripping him of his armor.

"Listen, Ryder, the bomb is on the ninth floor, civilians are with it. They are on the surrounding above floors as well. My team was unable to reach it. They used the civilians against us for leverage. There was nothing we could do."

"It's alright, We'll take it from here." Ryder assured.

Carth grabbed Ryder's arm and said with a raspy voice, "You don't have much time. Just…go." Ryder sighed and nodded. Carth was gone now.

"Alpha to Bravo, Foxtrot is eliminated. I repeat, Foxtrot is a eliminated. Proceeding to search and rescue.

" _Copy that… Good luck, Alpha._ "

"Boss, we've got five minutes left, how are we going to find the solution to this?"

"Hostage safety is paramount, but we don't have time to worry about all their needs. We breach all sides. Get Chase and Ty in sight of floor nine. I'd rather face court than see all these people die."

"Copy that," Marshall agreed, "Chase, Ty make the ninth floor visible, get to any building you have to."

" _Sniper support moving._ "

Marshall harvested an SMG from one of the operatives and some ammo. "We gonna wait, boss?"

"No, Place charges where you see fit, everyone's on their own, cover each other's back, hit any target you see. Marshall you've done this before. Don't you dare fail me now."

Marshall nodded. "Understood."

The team climbed the stairs and quietly attached charges on the walls of the enclosed office room. Thought there were barely any civilians in the room, most of the load was on the three floors. It was less than a thousand but more than enough to get a message of war across.

"Alpha ready?"

" _Snipers in position._ "

"We're all ready on North wall, Ryder."

" _Ready from East wall and door._ "

" _Ready from South Wall._ "

" _West wall unavailable, backing up all three walls._ "

The random voices confirmed their position. Ryder thought about the next move. "Okay, knock on the walls, get the civilians spectacle and hopefully that get's them backing up."

The knocking came from all sided but the window. The terrorist's raised their weapons and hid behind their cover.

"Do it."

The charges blew all at different times, rubble and smoke flew everywhere. To follow up, flash bangs flew inside. Screaming rang all over the room. The operatives quickly ran in and shot every armed personnel inside. With a bit of luck every hostile was taken out.

"Rocky the bomb!"

Rocky ran over at the huge suitcase-like bomb counting down from ten seconds. He looked it over beating his head. He'd seen this one loads of times, the problem was its so simple its easily forgotten. "Come on! Damn it! Think!" Right at three seconds he remembered. He tore into the bomb and pulled out green, red, and blue wires. The bomb stopped at three milliseconds to go. He blew out in relief and wiped his head. "Bomb has been secured."

"Alright, let's get the other three floors cleared."

" _Bravo to Alpha, bad news. FBI's here to steal the credit. They got SWAT teams in choppers._ "

"Radar patch me in. Thanks Bravo, they've arrived just in time, over." Ryder smiled.

"Your through, boss say hi."

"FBI, identify yourself, over," Ryder said.

"Agents Burns and Doable identify yourself, speaker, over."

"Captain Mason, Alpha One from the PAWS Alpha team. Requesting you put your men on the roof. We need to work this top to bottom. We just have these top three floors to go. Can you comply, over?"

"Roger that, we can comply. Thanks for the info, over."

Ryder sighed and checked his weapon's ammo. Three magazine's left. He faced the civilians and started his speech, "Alright, my name is Captain Ryder Mason, I'm with the PAWS. Please do not move anywhere, A team is going to pick you up shortly." Ryder lowered his voice and said to Everest, "Get Charlie up to recover the civilians. Let's move team."

It had been a long day after the building was cleared. The civilians walked calmly out of the building. With Charlie directing them to safety. The fire rescue and EMS providers met them there. Still at the top floor, Ryder shook hands with the federal agents and thanked them for coming. "I'm not always happy to see you guys but today is an exception."

"Yes, well, someone has to clean this mess you've made. I can't say I'm impressed with your work." Said Doable.

"That's because we were a bit out of line. I confess we didn't stick to protocol coming up. But at least we got them out of here."

Agent Burns shook his head. "Protocol is there for a reason, Captain. But in your case, there might as well be no protocol…if that's what it takes to save lives. Well done, Alpha."

Ryder nodded a thank you, "Don't mention it, sir. It's what were meant for… But we weren't the only ones."

"They will be remembered." Burns assured.

A nearby phone rang leaving the three confused. Marshall, nearby answered it and looked at Ryder. "It's for you."

Ryder slowly approached and took the phone, "Mason here."

" _Ryder, my friend. It's been a while._ " Said a changed voice.

"Has it?" Ryder asked with a smirk, "You think a voice changer is going to hid you? If your responsible for this attack…"

" _Ryder… you should know me better than that_ ," Laughed the voice, "After all, why would I miss a chance to destroy what you love most."

"Oh my God! That's the capital building!" Shouted Doable.

Ryder looked outside to see the building crumbling in flames. The view was just right with the sun behind it and the building being distinct enough to stick out. Ryder couldn't believe his eyes.

"You bastard. You're not going to get away with this. You tell me who you are right now and…" Ryder just noticed the line was cut. He hung up.

X X X

Carlos watched the civilians carefully ensuring that they passed through without fighting each other or problems occurred. Suddenly an explosion close but not in sight caused the people to panic.

"What was that?"

"There's more! Run!"

They began to scream and the organization was lost. Carlos tried to stop them yelling as loud as he could, "Everyone remain calm it's not close enough to be a threat!"

The rest of his team tried to help but they were practically being run over. Carlos then noticed a single man running through the courtyard café patio. He had gotten just the right angle to see the tripwire he was bound to run into.

"Stop! Sir! You in the gray suit! Stop!" It was too late right as he tripped the wire… Carlos found four bouncing betties jump up from the flower pots around him and blow in front of his eyes. Tracker saw the whole thing and watched as his best friend had been consumed by the shockwaves and tossed out of the patio onto the parking lot.

"Carlos!" he ran as fast as he could through the crowed to get his friend, "Carlos! Amigo! Amigo?" He finally stopped beside him and checked his pulse. Carlos…was gone. Tracker gripped Carlos and tried to hold back the tears threatening to expose his emotional state. But he couldn't. His oath brother was gone.

X X X

Though everything had settled down the day was not over. The PAWS took a large hit that would be hard to recover from. Alpha was A-OK but they had taken emotional hits. Bravo lost three members; Jackson, their bomb specialist; Aiden, their sniper; and Doug, their normal point man. Charlie had only one casualty, its leader, Carlos. Delta lost four members, two were N'zanna and Gomez, infantry men; but after exiting the bank they were engaged by an asset who still had a live bomb. Phil and Daniela were the only two who responded on time to stop the asset from taking any lives…but their own. Echo had no losses but eight of them were wounded, three requiring surgery and two of them requiring high quality care. The rest needed first aid and were able to finish the fight. Foxtrot was eliminated. Fourteen casualties resulted from their elimination. It summed to twenty-two dead and eight wounded. The civilians were a whole nether matter; a math no one wanted to get into.

When Ryder came down he couldn't believe the losses that were suffered. With this, the PAWS was crippled and the SWAT would have to take over. Maybe forever. After what Alpha had done, there would probably be a cry for the PAWS to be disbanded. Many civilians had come to help. This included some family of the Alpha's members.

Rubble smiled seeing the beautiful face of his wife. "Hey Shelby."

She cried and hugged her husband's unhelmeted head. It was a little hard with the thick armor and his height.

Rocky met with Rosita who nearly tackled him. Seeing him in his condition made her upset to the point he couldn't speak to her. He could just apologize.

Marshall and Everest only shared glances at each other to assure each other they were okay. Marshall was helping the EMS with their job, being an ALS unit, so he barely got to see her. Chase and Skye had done around the same thing. They were dong triage together, so they were somewhat able to communicate.

Kaiser had gotten stuck on the phone with his girlfriend. Radar was doing around the same but he was unable to speak to the vivid girl on the other side. Zuma had met Rosie just as he was coming back for more triage cards.

"Zuma!" She cried out as she saw him, "Zuma!"

Zuma looked up and saw her running towards him, "Rosie?"

"Oh, thank God, your alright. I was so afraid when I heard that the PAWS had gotten so many casualties."

"I thought you were going home," Zuma gripped her, "I thought you were away from here. This city isn't safe anymore, Rosie."

"Jesus is with me; He will protect me." She cried hugging him tighter, "He's proven that to you hasn't He?"

Zuma chuckled a little and replied, "Yeah… yeah, I guess He did."

Zuma looked up immediately recognizing Bryan. He was sitting in an ambulance, scrunched up and covering his head.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Rosie asked realizing Zuma was suddenly quiet.

"It's him. He was a part of this and…tried to help us. After all he's been through and… he'll never feel what peace feels like."

Rosie looked at Bryan at the distance and asked, "What' wrong? Who is he?"

"His name is Bryan. He said he could hear voices in his head telling him to do bad things and torment him. It looks like their doing it now."

Bryan scrunched up more, sobbing and grabbing his head tighter, nearly tearing his hear out. Rosie smiled and approached him. Zuma watched as she spoke him. She leaned over below his level and looked up. Once in a while he would nod or shake his head. Finally, he closed his eyes as she took her hands and placed them both temples. He once in a while would move his mouth. Then his face changed. He became stoic almost as if he was enjoying the wind.

Ryder interrupted him as he was watching. "Zuma we could use some help over here. Is that Rosie?"

"Yeah."

"What's she doing?" Ryder asked.

"What her mother does: heal."

Ryder watched a little with Zuma as Bryan suddenly lit up and cried into her arms. She said a few words making his nod vigorously and cry so much more. This time, he wasn't upset. When she came back she gave Zuma a smirk and asked, "You were saying?"

"What did you do?"Ryder asked.

"I silenced the voices… and taught him how to listen to a new one. One that will guide him the rest of his life to the world of civil engineering."

Zuma lifted an eyebrow and asked, "He wants to be a civil engineer?"

She answered with a few nods, "Yes, he does. Can you tell me his chances?"

Ryder scratched his head, "Actually, they're surprisingly high…if he studies."

The day was long and after the hours of triage and care were finished, there was nothing the PAWS could do. When they returned to HQ there was no welcome back or well done. Funeral arrangements were all over the place. The PAWS was also beginning to shut down. Everyone was packing their desk or destroying files. When Katie saw Ryder she gasped and approached.

"You're alright!"

He sighed and nodded, "Yeah, barely. We lost so many people."

"I know," She hugged him and kissed his head, "I know." Everyone was too busy with their own business to see them. "The PAWS is unfortunately standing down. The project is on the cue for whether it should be disbanded or recovered and continued. This mess is no picnic."

"I imagine that's our fault," Ryder said sitting on a nearby chair.

"You did what you had to do. Jake understands. He even got you off the hook. Your circumstances were justified. I imagine Rubble is going to have a hard time getting out of that armor though."

The two watched as the engineers were comically trying to help Rubble rid himself of the bullet proof wear. After Radar had hacked into it he had accidently locked the armor so it was unable to be disengaged electronically. He had yet to receive forgiveness. The two laughed for a little while. When they calmed down Jake had called Katie to his office. Ryder was left alone to his thoughts. His team was scattered going though their equipment and putting them in plastic bins for the getting rid of or use by the new response teams. They wouldn't be called to operate for a while. Ryder walked to a nearby window and stared at the crumbled capital building.

"This is what you wanted, isn't it?" He asked it as if it were the phantom caller. "You know you can't fight my team but you can stand a chance against the SWAT. You'll be all over the city, I imagine." Ryder's breath remained steady but his heart rate was picking up and his fists were clenching. "This… isn't….over."

No, It was far from that. As a matter of fact, it was just getting started.


	11. Chapter 11: The End?

I'm baaaa-aaack!

X X X X

It was a sad day in the waiting room of some stupid waiting room in a stupid building where the stupid people like to work. They called it a court house. This was Radar's way of viewing it, anyway. Everyone else called the hell of all hells pertaining to hurry up and wait. While Ryder was up in testifying in the Supreme Court, being the last fortunately, the rest of Alpha was to stay and morn for their lost brothers and sister. A funeral they weren't given the privilege of attending thanks to the court date. Chase, Marshall, and Rocky paced back and forth in their own claimed places of the waiting room. Everest, Skye, And Zuma read magazines. Ty was sleeping. Rubble was sitting quietly and once in a while sighed. Zuma was fidgeting with his hands trying to entertain himself. Kaiser drank some of a water bottle and switched from sitting down to pacing himself. Radar, however, in all his prepared glory, sat in one of the chairs, upside down. And played with a device he called a super fidget. He held it in both his hands and constantly clicked the buttons pretending he was playing a game.

Skye, noticing him just now, called him out, "Radar...what on earth are you doing?"

"Playing Mario," he replied staring blankly about five feet in front of him and tapping the buttons in a pattern that seemed gamerish.

"Radar, sit up." She sighed.

"Your not my mom," He shot back.

"Sit up or I'm taking the video game away," she scolded, "Do you want me to do that?"

Radar sighed and smacked his lips, "And I'm dead. Thank you for that, no really thanks. Peach always said the plumber needed a break. Now he get's to sleep forever! You know what Mario is getting boring anyway. I'm playing the life of doc now."

Marshall stopped and raised his eyebrows. "What?"

"Nope, he stopped, I'm switching over to his partner Chase. Don't fail me captain, you are the only hope."

Chase also stopped and looked puzzled, "Radar, what are you doing?"

"That's right, my puppet, stand their and make faces," Radar grumbled while moving the sticks at his index fingers. "Make them."

Skye rolled her eyes and stood up. Her heels clicking on the wood floor didn't alarm Radar as he didn't care. Her hand thrusted twords his and swiped the infernal device from his hands.

"No, the essence of my life! Your taking it from me!" Radar reached out, too lazy to get back on his feet and take it by force.

"Sit up," She said sternly, "I'm not going to tell you again."

"Or what? You already have everything. This is all I got left, 'mom'. I ain't giving you squat."

"You'll get your toy back. Happy? Now sit up. Someone is going to walk in and see you." Skye crossed her arms.

"You won't get a penny from me, woman!" Radar crossed his arms.

Skye sighed, "You know, for someone who's two years older than me, you sure act ten years less."

"For someone who's supposed to sound about two hundred hertz you sound like you're two hundred and fifty five ."

Skye shook her head, "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

"You speak at the frequency of little girl to her brother; let a man live free Baba Yaga! Now give me my mind controller or you will hear more useless facts about the world you live in and your anatomy."

"Like you know more than Marshall does. You haven't even touched the medical field except what the army has given you. How factual can you actually get?"

"Did you know that woman and men both have estrogen? That's why a man can lactate too."

"Oh my god, Radar, shut up!" Skye scolded.

"Did you know that females have a prostate? It's called Skene's gland."

"I did," Marshall raised his hand.

"Chase, please shut him up," Skye begged.

Chase shrugged, "Why? I'm thoroughly enjoying this. What else you got Radar?"

"Did you know Zuma's speech impediment comes from him being treated like a baby for too long. You technically have to stop treating them like a baby at around three."

Zuma shook his head, "I tell my mom every time. I'm still bitter."

"Don't encourage him!" Skye shouted.

"Fun fact, Skye, in Opposite Day the average human says what they don't mean did you know that?"

"Stop it, Radar!" Skye held her head.

"I will, Skye, I don't have a lot more. Did you know that right now in your body you are fighting the common cold, flue, and the chicken pox all at the same time? That's just three of the sixteen diseases you are fighting as we speak. Watch...op, there you go again!"

"That's actually not correct, Radar, that's probably only half right," Marshall shook his head.

"It was worth a shot doc, you never know who's throwing bull on the net. But did you know that your sperm cell is equivalent to about a million gigs or so. That would make an egg cell a computer that can contain billions of data ready to print out a kid. How cool is that?"

"Okay, fine, here! Take it! Don't blame me if you get chewed out for no military bearing."

Skye threw it back at Radar who caught it and sat up, "Whoo! The victor!"

"And now he sits up," Skye muttered at Chase.

"Well, he is his own man. Nothing you can do about that, Skye." Chase shrugged.

"I need coffee." She wiped her forehead.

"I'll get you some. Be right back." Chase left and went for the coffee maker sitting nearby.

Marshall joined him shortly. "That was probably the most entertainment we were going to get in this building."

Chase finished pouring Skye's coffee and nodded, "No kidding."

Meanwhile, Radar was once again pretending to take control of Chase—muttering something about poisoning the coffee in addition—in a desperate attempt to entertain himself. But a door swing later would gather the teams attention. "Boss! What"s the verdict? Whodunit?"

"Sir, are we in the clear?" Chase asked suddenly forgetting about Skye's coffee.

Ryder exhaled through puffed up cheeks and replied, "No damn clue." He made his way to the coffee pot and took the coffee that Chase was just making, "They require more time to 'review the information' and make one. So we don't know. The good news is Katie and I made a good impression and put up one hell of a fight. We countered every argument as well as we could. I think the jury was impressed enough with our preparations. Nothing surprised us."

The team laughed and smirked. Then Rubble asked, "and the bad news."

Ryder scoffed and asked, "Who said there was bad news? It's just..." Ryder's hands went up and mimicked a scale, "not so great news actually. But if you want to call it bad news it's this. The PAWS is being re..." Ryder kept waving his hands as if he were to cast a spell to give him a great vocabulary. By the look of his face it was obvious it wasn't working. He sped up to see if it would work but only a couple words came to him and he Chase the best out of his selection. "Rebuilt? Remade? I don't know, but they aren't keeping the old one. And it'll take a while so the FBI is staying the night."

"Balls deep into shit aren't we?" Ty asked, "And I just got here. It seems this kind of trouble has a thing for me."

"So you cursed us. Damn it, Ty, we trusted you." Radar glared at Ty. He didn't mean any disrespect, but he didn't like the mood the room was in. He never took anything seriously without a joke. "Shame on you, ghost rider."

"Well your alive so I've been doing my job, haven't I?" Ty scoffed.

"Yup, that's true," Radar sighed. "So, what are we waiting for verdict-wise again?"

"Whether or not anything I just is going to happen. And that going back into military service." Ryder replied, "Or in Kaiser's case, get enlisted."

Marshall tensed up. Everest noticed and secretly made her way to him. A hand touched his. He gave an assuritive nod and asked, "Say we refuse, what's the alternative?"

Ryder sipped his coffee and replied, "Pelican Bay."

Everyone's backs straitened. Those who were sitting sat up.

"Supermax prison? Is that even fair? We were protecting American citizens, foreign citizens, and domestic alike! There going to send us to Pelican Bay for that? What is this; did the liberals take over already?" Everest kicked a nearby chair and probably would have broken it if she hadn't kept in mind that it was government property.

"Liberal or Conservative they've all had a hand in that vote. Neither is more innocent than the other. Either or, we promised to protect them, Everest. We refuse to go back into service it's like going back on that promise. That's breaking article one-zero-seven."

"False official statements and failure to obey," Rocky echoed.

"And then they'd probably get us on ninty-two, wouldn't they?" Kaiser Asked.

"No, you'd have article eighty-three," Zuma sighed, "Fraudulent enlistment. And that's because you 'won't' go through all the steps and 'refuse' to fill out so and so and so forth. At least I think that's what they'd consider qualifying you."

"It's the free country, it also means free thinking...and free charging." Skye sighed.

The group was silent. They weren't sure what to think. If they did end up getting the bad verdict, what would they do? Ryder chose to find out. "So, in the event that I have to go back to SEAL team what would you guys do?"

Rubble shook his head, "I have a family... I can go back to the army for them...even if I hate it."

They looked at Zuma, who was next to him, likewise. "Well, I'd go back. I don't think Rosie would want to try and visit me in prison just to see me. I could go back to the D.O.G."

Ty was next. She scoffed when the looked at him. He was leaned up against the wall his right foot on its toe and left keeping him posted. He bounced his right foot a few times and eventually replied, "I don't care where I am. As long as I'm saving lives, I'm fine."

Eyes went to Rocky next. Rocky thought much like Rubble. "Family first. Army Rangers here I come...again."

"Well, I'm not going to prison. I'll take signal corps," Radar crossed his arms.

Again eyes turned. Everest thought about it a moment and shrugged, "I could go back to the cold, I guess. I have friends waiting for me anyway."

With that Skye was next. "And I don't see why being a picket would be so bad. Hopefully it's just ordinance and virtrep this time. I don't want anymore combat."

The team nodded. Kaiser was next. "Well, if I go mil I do hope I get the choice. I'll have to do my research though."

Eyes then went to Chase and Marshall. Chase I hailed sharply and said his peace, "I don't see why not. Marshall? You think you want to go back?"

"Absolutely no," Marshall said almost in tears. Everyone looked at each other and back at him.

"Marshall, this is Pelican Bay we're talking about," Skye scolded, "We're not going to let you go there."

"I'm not going back there, Skye." He said firmly. He looked at her in a way that scared her.

"No, Marshall, please, think about what your doing," Everest tried to hold back her own tears.

"I know where they'll send me, I'm not going back!" He argued.

"And you won't have to." Katie had just come into the room. She had a smile on her face, "Everything went well and the work on the PAWS's protocols is being revised as we speak. You're on stand for a couple month as work is being done. Meanwhile, get jobs, meet once a week or so, and enjoy your time off if you can. Spend as much time with your families too. I do recommend getting out of the city for a few. It's going to be pretty busy and all."

"That's it? Get jobs and live a normal life see if you still want to be in the P.A.W.S? Come on!" Radar shouted.

"I know, it's bad. I wish there was something I could do, but I can't." Katie sighed sadly.

The team looked each other over. "So we just go home?"

"Yes. Case dismissed as are you. Go home." She left the room and shortly after so did the team. They pushed through the countless reporters and somehow managed to get away from the courthouse. They gave each other good byes by quick nods and glances then left shortly after in taxis hired to wait for them.

Ryder stared at the cab floor for a while. He couldn't wrap his mind around the phone call he had before this all started...or ended. Whoever it was knew him and must have been someone he 'killed'. Problem was which one? When he reached his apartment he left for his kitchen and got himself something to drink. He started with water but decided to dig into his fridge for a soda. He thought long and hard who possibly could have been on the other side. No one came to mind... well, no one stuck out. When he returned to his living room he closed his eyes. "Think Ryder, think. Who would be smart enough to come back from the dead?"

"You mean all of us aren't?" He suddenly heard.

When his eyes opened he saw a large community of middle eastern men in his living room. Some of them had bullet holes in between their eyes, two of them had bullets holes everywhere on them. Still some had a gap between their throat.

Ryder had to chuckle. "I know you weren't, Hassir. You we're just plain old stupid."

Hassir was the only one Ryder had actually killed "fairly" Hassir had a knife in his chest. The smiling American made him sigh.

"You shoved a knife in my chest and watched me die. That is how you know. Look at these men. Men you killed. My brother who were like me. Who fought for Allah. You think all of them were stupid? They had lives. Families. They had gone to college, lived a childhood, played with friends! Are they really stupid?"

Another rather unique one stepped from behind Ryder with one of his sodas, "Were any of us?"

Ryder scoffed and replied, "Yes, because you served him with a gun. You know what happens to people who point them the wrong way?" Ryder took two fingers and poked the second one, Al'Qazir, in the head where he was shot. "They loose their brains. So yeah. They're stupid. Brainless, if I may." He laughed and walked to his couch, "Move!"

The men made room for him. He sat down and took a sip from his can. The two men followed him. "So you know it is not us. Who else do you think?"

Ryder looked around, "Razib? You look smart."

Whe. Razib turned he realized he was wrong, "Oh, right, I ran you over. Only half the man you were now, right?" The joke wasn't even funny for him.

"You jest yet you can't laugh. You Americans waist so much breath."

"And you middle easterners waist so much effort. Can't you take a hint, Al'Qazir? You can't beat America. You can only rile her up, stir her pot. Distill the pigments. Because no matter the skin that means there is the heritage. That's just how we think."

Hassir chuckled taking A'Qazir's soda and sipping from it. "Is this what you Americans call cherry coke?"

"No, it's just normal coke," Ryder answered drinking down the rest of his.

"Then why is it red?" Asked Al'Qazir taking it back.

"Because that's the color of Coca-Cola. Argh, none of this is helping, I'm looking at all of you and none of you look alive enough to come back."

"Ah, but remember, Ryder. We do not all serve Allah. We serve our purpose in this world, and some of us believe that is in service to Allah. But have we all been that way?"

"It would have to be someone who knew me well. Someone who I hunted for days, months maybe...years. Someone..."

"Like us," Razib finished patting Al'Qazir's shoulder, "Except, smarter? Is that it?"

"Time is running out, Ryder," Hassir smiled. "He is going to make his move and your pitiful American government want's you to wait. They think that attack made by one of us is just another tragedy... no. Not in this scale of destruction. You know what this was, Ryder, you have seen it before. Your friend even said it. It looked like Syria. It looked like crumbled homes. Burning cloth. It smelled like death. It felt like the desert."

"War. It was definitely a declaration of war," Ryder sighed, "tell me something I don't know."

"I did." Hassir smiled.

Ryder stopped. He looked around his room and pulled out a gun from under his sofa. Something felt wrong. "You now have less time. Again."

"You have no time, old friend."

"Armageddon will soon come. He will start it. He always did. You remember him well, but he never referred to himself by name. He forgot who he was."

Ryder saw a man get up and walk to his room. He slowly crept up and the three men followed him.

"He's waiting for you. He wants to be found. He wants you to remember, Ryder. He want's you to see it. Say it. He wants you to hear as you are subject to his revenge." Ryder grasped his bedroom handle.

"Do you think you can really continue with this? That you will be able to remember that name, Ryder? To face him once again in armed combat?"

"Armed? He wasn't armed... he was equipped." Ryder whispered.

"Ryder..." Ryder turned and looked at Hassir. "When you open that door he will not fight you he will not run. What will you do?"

Ryder looked at his gun and then at the door. He could hear footsteps on the other side. Whether they were another dead man's footsteps or the real thing he didn't know. But they held the answer.

"Well?" Al'Qazir Asked.

"What would an American assassin do?" Razib Asked.

Ryder turned the handle slowly. He he took a deep breath and replied, "Shoot the damn guy. He's trespassing." Ryder swung the door open and as soon as he saw his target smiled. "Oh yes... I remember now."

X X X X

Peace-time And War-zone Patrol, coming to you soon on . Rated T for language, violence, and awesomeness too much to be contained by anyone younger. Hooyah.


	12. Chapter 12: Who We Are

Posted with extreme prejudice.

X X X X

"Three months ago, I learned of the status of terrorist I had supposedly killed long ago. I've been hunting him since. I called favors, took some advice, and even got in touch with people I hadn't talked to since the day I enlisted. Well, unfortunately, he's been invasive. I can't pinpoint him anywhere. He's learned me well. I haven't gotten my team included yet but I plan to. Listen, I just need help. I know it's not my job, but I need it. America, Adventure Bay, they need it too. Might as well add Europe. This guy doesn't strike once. He's not a storm. He's not a wave, a tsunami, where sometimes there's more than one. The capital is just a start of something he's planning. He's a plegue without a cure."

President Jake rubbed his chin and leaned in, hands folded. "You know all this? For certain?"

Ryder nodded, "Yes, sir."

"How did you figure this out?" He asked.

Ryder shook his head, "I don't know. Part of me tells me he wanted to be found."

"'He wanted to be found?' You're talking like the two of your are old friends." Jake lifted an eyebrow. "Long history?"

"Longer than I like," was the reply.

"Hunting?"

"Tracking."

Jake hummed and nodded. "You do know I can't help in anyway. I don't have that much clearance anymore. And certainly no influence. After all, Adventure Bay is considered a state just like Puerto Rico and the Bahamas. I don't have that power anymore."

Ryder nodded, "I know. But...is there anything that you can do?"

Jake shook his head. "Nothing in my power. The PAWS has its hands tied behind its back. They want us to use our feet to do all the work. It's not impossible, just...harder. Reconstruction is halfway done and they don't want us...'wrecking it again.'"

Ryder exhaled. He leaned back in his chair. "Great."

Katie knocked on the door. When Jake sounded off, she entered. "I have that info you wanted, Ryder. Sorry it took so long. And, sir, I have that helo that isn't coming."

"Good, see to it it doesn't arrive." Jake smiled.

"How are we going to pull this off?" Ryder asked, "I don't mean to be the voice of doubt, but the government is already at our throats."

"Your a SEAL, Ryder, what happens to a man when you find his knife near your throat?"

"I'd take it and shove into his," Ryder replied scooting in as Katie laid out the information.

"Exactly, except, in this case, I want you to nock them cold. Here, these are the places of question. There's operations in Dubai, Afghanistan, Iran, even some in Europe. My little sparrow in the government was able to find out a little something that might come to your advantage. For one, it'll give you freedom to do whatever you want. For two, I will except you to make proper judgmental decision. For three, you will be the most hunted man in America. Well, in the UN."

"What?" Ryder crinkled his eyebrows.

"In other words," Katie explained, "Someone is actually working for your guy. At

least, we think. He's planting incriminating evidence that will be unquestionable about you and your team. He's going to expose as much as he can to cause the government to crash."

"So, what's my move? How long do I have?" Ryder asked.

"Three months. Until that time, your going to act natural, do your job, and pretend nothing is happening."

"Are you serious?" Ryder asked.

"I promise you, no more attacks will take place. Trust me on that. Eyes and ears are wide open for that. Even then we'd send you to stop it. But for now, your captain Ryder leader of Alpha team. Understand?"

"Yes sir." Ryder sighed. "So what's the non-existing help?"

"You'll find out. And don't worry about briefing your team, they are being told everything they need to know."

Ryder nodded, "Yes sir, thank you."

"Dismissed." Jake waved his hand.

"And welcome back," Katie smiled shaking his hand.

"It's good to be back." Ryder sighed. Ryder left the office and returned to his teams lounge. There his team was enjoying stories of their "break" and the jobs they were doing.

Radar, seeing Ryder return, clapped his hands and raced to him, "Boss I have a question for you."

"Boss, no!" Everest shouted from across the room.

She raced over with Kaiser who added, "Think of the people who care about you, Boss, don't let him ask the question."

"He's just wasting time." Everest chuckled in a fake panic. "Don't do it."

"Oh, come on it's a fair question," Ty laughed. "Just let me ask; he's curious!"

"Boss, don't!" Skye laughed.

"Okay, Radar, let's hear it." Ryder smirked. "I have a feeling I'm going to enjoy this or regret it, but I'm rolling the die here."

"Okay. Here it goes," Radar cleared his throat and a fake accent Asked, "Do you know... de wae?"

"What now?" Ryder asked in a chuckle.

"Do you know de wae?" Radar asked.

Ryder looked at Everest who laughed, "I told you, didn't I!"

"Oh god, is Radar asking him that stupid Ugandan Knuckles question!" Marshall asked.

"Radar, are you serious?" Chase laughed.

Ryder sighed and shook his head. Then suddenly asked, "De wae to da queen?"

"Eeeeey! You know de wae!" Radar sighed.

The room filled with groans and laughter. Ty shook his head. "Well that was a surprise. I didn't think you watched YouTube, Boss."

"There's a lot of things you son't know about me, Ty. Radar, stop wasting time and get back to the computer, please." Ryder smiled,

"De waaaae," Radar chanted it with rainbow hands as he passed Kaiser and Everest. "De wae." Each one was quieter than the last. Finally he passed them up and returned to his desk.

"Nerd!" Everest chuckled.

"Thank you," Radar had received it as a compliment. He took a couple of figures out of a box and started placing them on his station smiling as they sat proudly in place. "Ah, the good old days."

"What are you messing your station up with now?" Everest asked grabbing one of the .

Radar shrieked shouted, "That's a collectible! Don't touch it! That's unacceptable! Unacceptable!"

"Okay! Okay! Shut up!" Everest put it down. What is it? It looks like something my cousin would buy."

"It's a Bionicle, they don't make them anymore because LEGO doesn't know what's good for them. The new models barely lasted a year too. This is back in the day when the series was great. This one you grabbed." He picked up the white and grey figure, "is Kopaka, my favorite. You touch him...you die a terrible death. You...have...been...warned."

Everest stared at him and shook her head, "Radar, you are a special human being."

Radar put a open hand on his chest, "Really? You mean it? That's the second ass-ended compliment that you've given me today. I'm on a roll, yeah?"

"Yes, yes you are." Everest nodded. She made her way to the Keurig at the newly structured coffee section. Marshall was there making his own cup so she whispered, "He's so precious."

Marshall chuckled, sipped his coffee, and replied, "Yep, he sure is. Where would we be without him. Welp, it's good to be back, am I right?"

"Yeah, Absolutely. I think, anyway. Three months off the job with only monthly drills didn't exactly help keep me in shape. Ugh, I wonder how my two mile run looks right now."

"Mine's still good," Marshall grinned, "Chase and I exercised daily."

"You bastard. You worked out and left me to eat all the fat food without telling me? Jerk!" She hit his arm but they both laughed.

"I offered, remember? Tell you the truth, though, Chase and I have been working on a five mile run. Adventure Bay is having a running event in two weeks and we're getting ready for that."

"Yeah? What's the distance and the theme?" She asked pouring a bunch of sugar in her coffee. He eyed her cup not answering her yet. She waited for it but with the absence of an answer she looked at him. "Last one, I swear. I'll never drink it this sweet ever again."

"Which do you run on, caffeine or sugar?" He asked with a rising grin.

"Damn you, Marshall," she kicked his shin,

"Ow, jeez, it was a joke." He laughed.

Everest nodded, "Yeah, and it was rude. Apologize."

"Uh, you made us even with that kick. So, no. And you called me a bastard, you damned me, and you hit my arm. You've had your justice."

"You know what your right, how don't I get more if you don't apologize?" She lifted an eyebrow as she sipped her coffee.

"Sure, tonight," he replied, "for now, don't kill me before a call."

"Ooh, I like that," she smirked.

Marshall nodded in agreement but his eyes popped, "Shit, not like that, don't even."

"Too late," she walked away quickly before he could detest. It would be awkward to follow. She knew this and utilized it perfectly. Knowing her, she would go tell it to Skye and have a laugh. She'd probably ask for suggestions too.

Meanwhile, Rubble and Rocky approached the coffee stand and worked on their own cups of coffee. "What was that about?" Rubble asked.

"That was about the most awkward conversation I've ever had," Marshall replied. "In my defense she started it."

"Yeah, probably did," Rocky chuckled, "So, what did you do for break?"

"Pft, not much actually," Marshall scoffed, "Chase and I worked out to stay in shape and I stayed home for the rest."

"How uneventful!" Rubble shook his head. "Man you got to step it up! You gotta go out! You gotta..." his fist pumped a few times. "Get a family?"

"Oh god, another awkward one is coming, incoming!" Marshall sighed.

"Marshall he's right, brother," Rocky punched his shoulder his his coffee hand. "You need to step it up and find a girl. Bet one of them would be more than enough you know?" Rocky had pointed at Skye and Everest who were laughing about her and Marshall's previous encounter.

"I'm sorry, what now?" Marshall asked.

"Let me ask you something, if you had to pick," Rubble pointed with his arm, "Who would it be?"

Marshall's eyes slowly opened as wide as they could possibly be and his face had turned red. Ty joined the group saying in protest, "That's called breaking regulations, my friends."

"Yeah, Yeah it is, but our brother is desperate and someone he knows might be a good start. You know?"

Ty shook his head, "That's a terrible idea but if he's trying to get ass so desperately then try Everest. Her's is bigger."

"An excellent point," Chase said as he approached, "The hell are you guys talking about?"

"Oh, god, don't do this, guys," Marshall covered his face.

"Trying to get Marshall a girl." Ty replied, "What do you think, Chase? Everest or Skye? I personally don't agree but... it's not like I care. As long as he's got my back. Right Marshall? Got my back?"

"Yeah, I gotcha," Marshall nodded. His head shook with a sigh. "Chase, do me a favor and convince these hooligans to stop talking about this." Chase's grin rose as Marshall's heart sunk. "I'll kill you."

"No no, I'm curious. If any of them are willing or have to be a fall back, which would it be? You are single, bro."

Marshall growled and dropped his head. His head rose with a fake smile and replied, "Skye. Because she's got that small, petite body and probably a tight one too."

Rubble and Rocky laughed. Ty snickered and walked in a circle. Chase stared Marshall in the eyes. "You didn't."

"Yup, I just did. I warned you, 'best friend'."

"Ooh. You asked for it. You know Marshall, that ain't bad but then you've got to give it to Everest. She's got what counts in a girl, right?"

"What?" Marshall squinted, a puzzled face fixed onto him.

"You know," Chase smirked and made an arch at his pecs then tapped his buttocks.

Again a loud share of laughters filled the room. Marshall's mouth dropped. The two friends knew each other well. Thus throwing jabs at each other via their choice of woman was nothing special. Choice did have a lot to say. "You...that's not even nice, man. That's not cool. That's just...I conclude, this won't end well."

"Your probably right," Chase agreed. "But you know, Your right, Skye doesn't look half bad."

"Well, nether does Everest," Marshall sighed. They stared at the girls for a few second.

"What are guys talking about near the coffee stand?" Zuma Asked, "You are breaking its sacred peace."

"Just teasing Marshall is all." Rocky smiled. "How do you think Marshall would do with Skye?"

"Skye?" Zuma asked shaking his head, "Dude, if he went after anyone I'd say he was after Everest."

Marshall looked away to hide his fear. This was getting too uncomfortably close to home. Chase pat his back as he chuckled, "Yeah, he probably would."

"And Chase would try out with Skye. You broke up with your last one right? You sound like a single dude," Zuma shrugged. "So, if it weren't against regs, you'd probably go for it, right?"

"Okay, that's enough, you guys!" Chase said sternly. He cleared his throat. "You guys should take a break from match maker. Besides, poor Marshall is probably traumatized by now."

"I feel like I've lost my purity already." Marshall sighed. "And this wasn't even a sex talk."

"It's alright, my brother," Chase sharply inhaled, "We will support you no matter the circumstances."

"Thanks, Chase," Marshall grumbled.

"Even if you do date a teammate."

"Goddamn it!"

To Marshall's rescue the alarm went off and got the team's attention. Radar raced to the monitor and got the location. "Nine one one call! Uptown! We got an active shooter who's causing some trouble for our boys in blue!"

"Right as we got settled back in, let's make this look good, guys!"

"Urah, look good!" Skye shouted.

"It Hooah, Skye!" Chase grinned.

"Not where I come from," Ryder said running past.

They flooded the armory, getting back into the old habits of throwing weapons and ammunition everywhere across the storage to each other and then making their way to the SUVs and sat-van.

"Good to see these haven't changed," Radar smiled petting the familiar car model.

"We'll see if they're the same thing. Watch, there'll be something different." Kaiser said getting into one.

"Yeah like..." Skye took a moment to lift up a seat as everyone was mounting. "No LAW rocket. The flares are still here though. That's still a crappy place to put them. Who designed this thing? Wait...is that a shovel? What the hell."

"Skye, later, let's go," Ryder hastened.

Skye put the seat down and hopped in, "I've seen enough anyway."

As soon as the team was buckled in they took off to rescue their fellow law enforcement. Despite the nature of their call, they all had a shot of excitement fill them. It was good to be back.

X X X

He was a man of perhaps twenty-one years now maybe less. But still, he was old enough to buy a gun. He trained for a year maybe two for this. All he needed was the right rifle. He looked through the gun shop but as a great as a shot he was, he didn't know what rifle he would pick. He didn't even know enough about guns to know if any of them were accurate enough to suite his need. He looked at some models that looked like they would be perfect but he wasn't sure about them. He went up to the desk and greeted the gun shop owner. "Good morning, sir, is it alright if I ask you for an opinion?"

The shop owner smiled, "No, go ahead, I'm listening. What do you need, pal?"

The young man looked the rifles over and said, "I'm looking for a relatively light gun that's the best shot, how would I know which one is that?"

The man shrugged, "It all depends on the operator, ultimately, but there are some models here I'd say that would get you what you want. For the most part, you want to get a tactical model because their built to be light. So I'd say your looking for...an AR or a Kel-Tech."

"How far can they shoot?" He asked.

"Mm, Depends on the ammunition but in general two to three hundred yards or between there."

"That isn't far enough," the man scratched his head. "I need longer distance."

The shop owner nodded, "Ah Okay. Uh. What's the task? Hunting or something?"

The purpose was none of his business! The man was tense at first but he relaxed and replied, "Yes, and home defense."

"Yell if it's that, I'd probably suggest long rifle then. Home defense, you want a pistol or a smaller weapon. Or that AR would do you nicely." The man came around and got out from behind the counter, "I'd say you would want one of these models." They were a bunch of wooden guns with an old look. "They may be heavy but...they are one of the most powerful guns of it's kind. Here, how about this? This is a Mauser Nagant, World War Two rifle."

He tried handling it. It wasn't hard to handle, but he hated the weight. He didn't want to lug this thing around. "Um, it's a bit heavy. I don't really like it."

"Yeah Okay, How about this one. This one is just as powerful but you have got to hug it I warn you. These rifles that I'm handing over are extremely kicky. They hurt after a while."

"Well, I could use a little less power. I'm only hunting deer," He chuckled.

"I hear ya," the owner laughed, "I just didn't know if you were one of those who like to finish it in one shot. Okay, how about this one? This one takes seven point six two rounds and shoots about...eight hundred yards. But if you get some point three thirty-eight Lapua magnum rounds your looking at fifteen hundred yards. This is an M24."

The model made his eyes pop. It looked exactly like... he took the rifle and smiled. "I like this. This is nice."

"Yeah, that's the normal response," The shop owner smiled, "Problem is it's around three grand."

"I have enough, I'll take it," He smiled, "And some ammunition. You said something about the ammunition."

"Yeah, I'll give you seven six two. Two boxes for free anymore and it's going with the purchase. I just need some information. "Can I get your name, sir?"

The man put the rifle on the counter and replied, "Alban Ditmir."

X

Alban filled his clip with the seven six two rounds and forced it into the rifle. He cocked the bolt and took a deep breath. As he looked through the scope, he could see the four vehicles coming for the 'trapped' officers. He had managed to triangulate a position to hold several officers having an outing at Mr. Porter's restaurant. They called for backup but that ended up failing. Now to see if his gamble worked. He watched the SUVs and van pull in close. He took a shot and the one that got hit veered and warned the others. They split up and disappeared. He growled and looked for at least one of them. He eventually caught one and aimed at it. The four doors opened and they got low trying to hid and hoping he couldn't see them. Conveniently, the SUV was facing him and he was blocked from any good shots.

"Damn it."

He stared at it and something took his interest. He could see one sticking his head out and trying to locate him. He recognized him. A smile reached his face. His gamble worked. It was Alpha team. Revenge was close.

"Now, Where is he?" He asked himself. The one he recognized was probably his target, but he was not sure. He remembered two shooters on the roof that day and they had complimented one of them. This man was one of them but he didn't look like the primary who took the shot. Then again, perhaps it was this one. It didn't matter, if he got them both it would be just as sweet...then he could die. He took aim at the responder. He was dressed in red, he had a patch of a winged rod with snakes wrapping around it on his shoulder below the number three on the butt of his shoulder. He wasn't too familiar with the insignia but he recognized it on hospitals and ambulances. He took off his safety and took another deep breath. "This if for my father." He took the shot...and the man fell over. He watched as he fell a couple feet back. Slowly...a pool of blood formed. It was small but growing by the rate of an hour. A frown escaped him seeing as the target was still moving. He didn't want him to suffer. No, his Justice was to be swift. He cocked the bolt back again and took another shot. This time the provider stopped moving. He closed his eyes and whispered, "I'm sorry."

He watched as the other four providers looked all over for him and one of them dragged him behind as another had a shield breaking his view of his target. He sighed; he knew exactly how they felt...but that was their fault. Now he had to find the other one...but where was he?

X X X

"Goddamn it!" Ryder shouted as he heard the glass crack.

"Son of a bitch! he grazed me!" Rocky shouted covering his shoulder.

"Alpha, split up!" Ryder shouted.

Marshall, Radar, and Rubble all took different directions as Ryder sped up then took a sharp turn right. Marshall took a position close to Mr Porter's while Rubble had taken a position a bit further and Radar had managed to get to Mr. Porter's.

Marshall, Kaiser, Skye, And Zuma dismounted foolishly and hid behind their doors their SMGs hugged close. Zuma peaked out and shouted, "Do you see him?"

"It's a city! How the hell do you find a sniper in a city, Zuma?" Marshall shouted peaking out a bit and examining the buildings.

Kaiser pressed in his ear peace and asked, "Ty can you get a beat on him?"

"No, I'm doing my best right now. We we're heading northeast when our vehicle was shot, that's all we know right now! I'm working it out."

Marshall was muttering the phrase over and over as he tried figuring it out. He looked behind him, in front of him and all around. Skye peaked out and sighed, "I can't see a damn thing. He's too well hidden. Marshall we can't stay here. We're sitting ducks."

"I know, bad call." Marshall sighed, "Damn it, I'm an idiot! I should have thought this through and...koomf!"

The sudden stop made Skye look around her cover. "Marshall?" The sight of what she saw horrified her. "Oh shit, oh god! Officer down officer down! I repeat officer down! Marshall's been hit! Marshall, hang on we're coming!"

"Marshall? Marshall! Stop moving!" Kaiser shouted. Marshall tried to crawl away to Skye who shouted again, "Stop, he's only going to...damn it, Zuma, get a shield!" His pool of blood was getting bigger. It slowly leaked from his abdomen.

Zuma raced to the back and got the shield. Just then, another shot went off. They all froze. Skye turned the corner, wide eyed and filled with tears. She saw Marshall's shot located on his back...was he...? "Marshall? Marshall, say something!"

"Skye, this is Everest, where are you? Is Marshall okay?" She asked.

Skye didn't respond. Ryder had asked the same question followed by Radar. They had contacted the whole squad. But none of them answered for some time. The only thing bringing them back to reality was Zuma racing forward and shouting, "Get him out of there, we need to patch him up! He can still make this! Let's go, come on!"

"Skye? Skye respond!"

"He's not moving! Cover! I'm dragging him out!" Skye ran out and grabbed Marshall, turning him over on his back and dragging him by the pits of his arms. Kaiser shortly arrived and helped her. They leaned him against the SUV taking his pack and his vest off.

"Oh, God he's not breathing!" Skye said as she started crying.

"Keep it together, he's not dead yet...pulse, it's weak," Kaiser said as he dug through Marshall's pack. "Grr, occlusive bandage!" The pack eventually pulled it out itself. "There. We need this for the shot in his chest; he's taking air into his thoracic cage, that'll give him a tension pneumothorax. IF we don't treat it now. Hang in there, Marshall. Skye! Get me another occlusive dressing from Marshall's pack! He's got an open wound back here!"

Skye did as he said quickly, utilizing the voice activated accessory. "Kaiser, how's Marshall doing?" Zuma asked keeping the shield in front of him and looked everywhere for their bad guy.

"He's in critical condition. If we don't transfer him to definitive care he's going to be in for a long nap. Load him up. Ryder, Zuma and Skye are pulling out, Marshall's down and we can't leave him in this condition."

"We'll come back, I promise!" Zuma shouted taking the wheel and leaving Kaiser. Kaiser raced to cover and slowly made his way to Mr. Porters.

"Godspeed, Zuma, just go, don't come back unless we recall you!" Ryder shouted. He turned around looking at Chase, Everest, and Ty. "Marshall's down and out so Kaiser will have to deal with our hit officer. We need to get that shooter now!"

"Oh my God," Everest turned around and shut her eyes tight.

"Everest, keep it together, we need to stay focused. We can't worry about him now. I know we want to think about helping him but the best thing we can do is try and find this bastard then take him down."

Everest wiped her eyes and breathed in deeply. As soon as she let it out she asked, "Where do we get started?"

"We need to find out where that shot came from. Ty?"

"It hit our left as we we're going northeast at a bearing of about zero four three. The shot had a bearing of three four zero making it an acute angle of about sixty-three degrees. We're looking at...one of those buildings." He pointed at three tall buildings in view. It made sense since they we're the only buildings that could spot the group below. "I'm willing to bet it's the one closest to us."

"Makes sense, see if you can spot him. I'm going to check on the officers." Ryder said, "Radar, patch me."

Radar respond quickly. "Calling the number now."

"Hello? Who is this?" Asked one of the police.

"This is captain Mason from the PAWS. How's everyone doing in there?" Ryder replied.

There was a a soft chuckle before the officer replied, "We've been better. That shooter is a good shot. He got Lipton. He's not holding up well, do you have a medic?"

Ryder didn't respond for a minute. Realizing he was on the phone he finally replied, "He got him too. We have another one on the way. He's going to help in any way he can, don't worry. What can you tell us about that shot? Do you think you can narrow it down? Is there any locations that you can see from you position?"

There was a slight pause but some shuffling. The officer replied only after a couple seconds, "Yeah, I got two skyscrapers. I'm willing to bet it's the closer one."

"Good guess, but wrong," Radar butted in, "That building is occupied by people who would like to just get over with the day. The building you're looking at is the one behind it."

"How did you narrow that down?" Asked Ryder,

"I just took in account what Ty said and did a little bit of tracking. Besides, why use a populated skyscraper when you can use a nearly finished built one right beside it."

Ryder examined the buildings in cover. "That building is under construction?"

"Yup, and it makes for good camo because it's nearly done. You'd never have guessed it, am I right? That's what the shooter wanted us to think. But they didn't count on me being on the job. Hooah."

"Alright, nice job Radar. Chase, get your team over to the further skyscraper. Use a different car, he might see you coming otherwise."

"Got it, Boss." Was the response.

X

Alban searched his checkpoints and sighed in frustration as he couldn't find his target. He had plenty of clear shots but his main target was that damned shooter from that day. A phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out and asked who was calling.

"Alban, it's me," Said the voice.

"What do you want? Did you get the name I wanted?" He asked angrily.

There was a chuckle. "Yes, I have the name. It's Chase, Chase Roberts. He is a skilled shot, like yourself. You shouldn't have any problems if you play your cards right. Unless you already made your move."

Alban was silent. It said everything.

"Ah, So you have. Well? What do you want?"

"Tell me who he was. The red one. He had a three on his shoulder. Did he have family?"

There was silence and tapping. "Yes, his name was Marshall Benton. He had a sister, Martha, and an older brother..." the man chuckled.

"What? What about the older brother?"

"Nothing, he won't be a problem. His name was Chief."

"This Marshall Benton...who was he?" Alban asked suddenly entranced in getting to know the man he had supposedly killed.

"He was a healthcare provider. Abused as a child by his own father. Sad. Heh, you put him out of his misery. A man working in a job like that was bound to forget himself. Don't worry."

Alban felt sorry for him now. He looked away from his scope in guilt. He wanted the man who killed his father to pay...but instead...he killed a man who didn't even know how to care for himself. It mattered little now. There was nothing he could do. "Maybe so, but he deserved to live. There's nothing I can change. Call me if there's something else you find. I will kill him today."

"Fine, but just a suggestion, I would move if I were you. There's only a matter of time for them to find you. They have...certain levels of skill on their side." The phone clicked and Alban looked at his phone. His call was ended. He put the phone back into his pocket and looked down the scope only to realize that there was some odd sounds distant inside the building. Something collapsed. He had already been found. He packed up his rifle and swung it over his shoulder. He took his father's handgun from out of his pants and ran up a flight of stairs. Some of the top floors were void of windows. He would use the darkness of one of them to his advantage.

X X X

"Shit shit shit!" Rocky tried to stop the equipment from falling over but it was too late. A loud clange of the empty metal paint buckets filled the thirtieth floor. "Damn it."

"What the hell happened?" Everest hissed.

"The damn chain linked on me and then this shit went Humpty Dumpty on me!" He explained just as flustered as her.

"Quiet, we need to move fast!" Ty whispered, "Let's go!"

"Ty's right, no chatter, go. Go!"

The team split walked and cleared the floors room by room as the nearly finished building filled with fresh drywall obscured their vision. They had flashlights and leftover sunlight as their only means of vision. The electricity wasn't on yet and they weren't entirely allowed to enter the building. They had no warrant. But they weren't about to wait for one either. They came upon a stack of tarp next to a window. Some brass shells were trapped inside and the window it was located next to had a circle drilled out of it.

"I think we found the shooter's camp. He's in here alright." Chase Said examining the brass. "Seven six twos. This guy was using seven six twos. Shoulda known with the proximal distance the shot's were located at."

"He could be using a series of rifles." Rocky took the shell and examined it then handed it down. Everest was in a covering position. But it didn't stop her from playing detective. She examined the room for signed of where he went.

Ty beat her to it, "Shoe marks in the dust he went this way."

"Let's see how far it takes us." Chase said as he took point. They followed it to the stairs. Once they climbed they had to rely completely on the light of their flashlights. Being they didn't have any on their SMGs they traded for sidearms and assumed the wrist on forearm technique. They reached the next floor's door. Chase put his flashlight down and gripped the handle. He looked at his team, "Ready?"

They nodded. Everest gripped her gun tighter. She assumed point. As soon as Chase would open the door, she was determined to make this guy pay.

X X X

"Move! Move!" Zuma shouted. He and two nurses were rushing Marshall to the operating room where they were preparing for him. A doctor was getting Skye's full story as they were following close behind. They entered the sterile field but were quickly forced to exit.

"We'll take it from here, you need to stay out, this is a sterile environment and we can' thane you contaminate it. Please leave." Said the Doctor.

"Just save him, doc, please," Skye begged as the doors shut.

Zuma took a deep breath. He looked at the ground then at the operating doors and sighed. "He's going to be okay. They have him. He'll be alright."

"Zuma, that's..." she tried not to sob, "That's Marshall in there. He's not a civilian, an officer, or a subject...That's out brother." She sat on a nearby chair and let it all out.

"I know, I know, Skye. I would not have seen this coming either." Zuma willed his face. He was taking it just as hard. "Marshall has spent so much time taking care of us that I had no idea this would happen. Him of all people. It shoulda been me."

"It could have been any of us instead of him. It should have!" she sobbed, "He didn't deserve this...he didn't...deserve any of this."

Zuma put a comforting hand on her back and rubbed up and down, "He's a tough guy. He'll make it through this. He always does. Marshall's been in worse cases than this. Heh, remember those stories he told us when he got stranded in Syria?"

Skye chuckled a little, "You mean when he said he had only one good arm and good leg in enemy territory and made it to safety with just a spade?"

"Yeah, That was my favorite." Zuma said rocking back and forth and rubbing his hands together.

"Yeah it was mine too, that's why it's the only one I remember." She sniffed and wiped her nose.

"But he made it. He was nearly bled out but he found a way. He's practically invincible. God just loves him, y',know?" Zuma froze and stared at a nearby water fountain. "He just...chose Marshall as his favorite that day."

"Chase always said Marshall was a magnet for the worst but always came back with the best." Skye looked at the floor. "Zuma...Marshall was the first operative to befriend me before I started warming up to Chase and Ryder. He's like a brother to me... if I lose him...if Chase looses him... we're not going to be here long enough to get back in this fray. If the bullets don't kill us...this wound sure will. I feel like I've been cut so deep. And if I don't see my big brother back on his feet again I'll just bleed out..." Skye his her head in her arms and cried silently.

Zuma took a deep breath. "I wish you weren't right all the time, Skye...I have a funny feeling that the whole team feels the same way. We've all become so close that if we lose one member...then we fall apart. But that's half the battle, and a small part of this job we're gonna hate. We have to learn how to compensate for our losses. Right now, we don't have to. Because Marshall ain't dead yet. He's gonna make it, and he's gonna come back just as strong if not stronger."

Skye sighed and sat up. Her hands covered her face. She took slow deep breaths before leaving. "I need to use the bathroom. Just give me a second."

Zuma nodded, "Yeah, okay." She left and he found something to stair at on the ground. He tried to act confident but he didn't know if any of it was actually true. After some time of thinking he grabbed his phone and called Rosie. It took her a few seconds but she picked up with a cheerful voice.

"Hey, Zuma, how are you doing, baby?" She greeted.

Zuma put on a smile and greeted her back. "Rosie, hey. Is this a good time?"

"Yeah! Great time actually. I'm on break and I'm just lounging with a cup of coffee. Is it for you? Oh, who am I kidding, your the one calling me. What can I do for you?"

"Rosie, I Uh..." he lost the strength he had for Skye. The feeling of having to play the comforting brother gave him strength to be strong for her but now that he was talking to Rosie he lost all of it. "I might lose someone today. We were responding to a sniper in the city and Marshall got hit. He may not make it." He took a long choppy breath and continued, "We can't loose him, Rosie...we can't. I'm sorry I called you like this...I didn't mean to spoil the day. Just pray for us, I'll hang up now."

"No! Baby, don't do that. Baby, talk to me; let this out. You can't let this eat you up like that. I know you feel like it's hopeless right now, but this is not going to conquer you or your team. A defeated enemy will stay defeated as long as you keep him in his place. Don't give this up now."

"I know, but I can't do this. You keep telling me how to be better and stronger, but I can't do it. I'm not strong like you."

Rosie sighed behind the phone and said softly, "Stop...trying! You can't because you do not have that ability, Zuma. You have to trust Him to do that. I'm strong because I'm so used to not depending on myself. I'm used to not taking it upon myself to make things right. There is no way you could have stopped that bullet. That isn't on you. That isn't on any of you. It's due to an enemy that is weaker than us but so much smarter. That's why he is so dangerous. He get's into other people's head's and they just fall apart."

Zuma sniffed and clears his throat. "Rosie, can you pray for us? Just right now. I want to hear it. Please?"

"Of course, Zuma." As Rosie prayed, Zuma could feel waves of relief pour over him. He felt more confident about the situation. She had such strong prayers...it was a true motivator. As soon as she ended he was done crying. "There, now you stop worrying about Marshall. He's in God's hands now. He'll take care of him. You need to focus on your team. Starting with who's with you. I think she could use just as much encouragement as you."

Zuma chuckled. "How on earth did you...you know what? I'm used to this by now. I don't even care anymore."

"Good. You shouldn't be surprised after how long you've been with me." Zuma could practically hear her smile on the other side.

"I love you, Rosie."

"And I love you. Is there anything else?"

Zuma inhaled sharply and blew out of his puffed up cheeks. "Nah, I'm good. Thanks, Rosie. Skye's coming back so I'm going to hang up now."

"Alright, sounds good. Good luck okay? Good bye, Zuma."

"Bye." Zuma tapped the red button on his phone and sighed.

Skye sat next to him and buried her hands in her head. "They said they were intubating him. He's going into respiratory failure. The bullets they... they got his right lung. He..." Skye began to cry again, "He might not be able to come back."

Zuma watched her as she sobbed. He looked back at the ground and inhaled sharply once again. "Skye, if I learned one thing being with my girl it's that things mostly happen because we speak them into existence and let go of hope. There's a fine line between pessimism and realism. Your being a pessimist. Marshall's treated several patients in the state he's in now and they all got back up after so many days. What makes him so different? You look and how advanced out medicine is today verses then and you gotta see that he's got a better chance to live then die."

Skye smiled bringing her head up and wiping her hands across her tied back hair, her eyes closed. She smiled and took a deep breath. "I know your right Zuma. And that is comforting...but I wasn't talking about his life. I meant that Marshall might have to pull out of the P.A.W.S because of this. He may not come back...even if he does survive. They said it was a slim chance."

Zuma didn't know what to say about that at first. Something came to him eventually. "Well, same concept. Don't believe in it, don't feed it, and it won't grow. Kill the roots."

Skye thought on it. Maybe he was right. She wasn't sure how to think with all the stress going on.

"I'm going to check on the team." Zuma grabbed his phone and called Radar.

"What? What! Yes? Hello! What do you want? I can't buy anything right now!"

"Radar, it's Zuma, what's going on?" Zuma Asked.

Radar could be heard moving bursting out of his van, "Everest is going crazy! That's what! She's going kill him!"

"What?"

X X X

Chase looked around frantically. He pointed his SMG every which way. He couldn't believe that they didn't see the trap coming. The moment they opened the door a concussion grenade went off and Ty and Rocky went tumbling down the stairs. Everest was nowhere to be found. Somehow she had managed to get by from the blast and tough it out then run into the room. Chase couldn't hear a thing but he could still see. His hearing slowly returned but it wouldn't have helped as soon as he felt the stock of a weapon hit him right in the forehead. He stumbled back and tripped on some equipment and found himself in the floor. The shooter had his gun pointed at him. Chase recognized him immediately. That boy from a year ago. It did 't take an interrogation to remind him. "I know you, don't I?" His speech was deep but slowly turning normal as his hearing was coming back to him.

"You do. Your memory serves you well." He chambered a round into the rifle and forced the bolt forward. "I don't have to explain this to you then."

"Why did you shoot Marshall? Thought to get us both since you didn't know who took the shot?"

"I knew who murdered my father. I shot him because he was there with you. It was a shot I regret. I understand how you feel though."

"No you don't. Losing a father is bad to lose but it's a whole 'nother feeling losing a brother. Marshall didn't deserve to get hit. He saved more lives than we took."

"All the more you should understand why I greave my actions. If I could take it back, I would. But it's too late now. Now, I finish what I have come for." Alban took off the safety of his rifle and pointed it atChase who was still recovering. Chase closed his eyes. He knew it was no use to try and negotiate with him. He was ready to accept his fate. It was postponed for fare too long.

"Not this time, you bastard!" Before Chase knew it he looked down to see Everest tackling Alban and forcing his round shoot into a drywall. They wrestled a bit before Everest was thrown off. She had managed to hurt something before he somehow got away. She was still fighting to recover from the concussion grenade. She crawled after him eventually getting back on her feet and pursuing. Chase slow got back to his feet and started to follow. "Your not getting away from me! Not after what you've done!"

Chase followed the echoes of Everest's voice. He shook his head trying to shake the concussion's aftermath.

"Where the hell are you! I'm going to find you one way or another!"

Chase didn't like where this was going. He held the button of his earpiece. "Guys, I need back up. I think things are going south. Everest doesn't sounds like he's going to take this kid alive."

"Kid?" Ryder asked, "Chase what do you mean?"

"It's Alban. He was after me. Everest saved me but... she's taking it too far. I'm going to need help."

"Rocky and I are coming. We're still a bit roughed up from the stairs but we'll be okay." Ty said.

Kaiser chimed In too, "I've got the ambulance on our officer and he's stable. I'm on my way."

"Radar, I need you there too," Ryder ordered, "We need the team to talk some sense into her."

"There you are!"

"Oh no, she found him!" Chase broke into a run. Alban was stuck in a corner holding his hurt leg. He had accidentally tripped because of the darkness of the building. To the looks of it he just bust his knee. Everest held her gun in the firing position. She ignored Chase as he had finally made his way into the are. "Everest...I think you've done enough. The kid can't do much, just cuff him and let's go."

"Stay out of this Chase!" She screamed. "Do you know...who the hell you shot?"

Alban looked terrified. He had expected to die, but this? This was not how he expected to go.

"Everest, that's enough! Don't shoot the kid. He'll get what's coming to him."

"You don't even know do you?" Everest was shacking. She crafted to cry. Chase hesitantly reached to his side.

"Everest, put the gun down, and let's think this through, your a P.A.W.S operative, not this. I know how you feel about Marshall but this isn't going to save him."

"If you tell me one goddamn thing about him I'll consider letting you live. Go on...try me. My trigger finger is getting really itchy right now."

"Everest! Don't!" Chase pulled his gun. He felt his heart break. He was pointing a nine millimeter at his friend...and it was meant to shoot her. He never felt this before. "Please, don't make me do this!"

Everest finally turned her head. The look she gave made it worse. "Chase...you would shoot me to save someone who nearly killed your brother! Marshall could be dead because of him!"

"So could you! If you don't put you fucking gun down...please..." Chase was shaking too. Rocky and Ty came in wide eyed at the picture before them.

"Chase...what's going on?" Rocky asked trying to piece the puzzle.

"Rocky...step back and don't move. Everest, let's talk about this a little more. You shoot or look a thing like you will I have to shoot too. You put the gun down and we can bag this kid and get him to court. You can still be an operative and you can see Marshall. He don't have to know you did this. What do you want me to tell Marshall? That I had to put you down or that you bagged this guy for him? Come on! You know what's the better deal!"

Everest turned back at Alban and started to break down. "He could be dead...he could be dead right now. I could lose him because of you!"

Alban was crying just as they were. Rocky and Ty we're still shocked at what they found. Everyone else could here the chatter through Chase's and Everest's coms. Ryder thought hard on what was going on. Radar was frozen in his place staring at the building. Rubble and Kaiser sat at the diner seats and stared into space. Skye and Zuma were sitting in the hospital with hope clutched In a closed fist.

"Everest, let's just go..." Chase whispered. "Let's go see Marshall, Okay? You can see he's okay. We'll visit him and let him know we got this kid alive and he's not going to hurt anyone anymore. What would Marshall want most? What do you think he would do if he found out this kid did all this? Do you think he'd do what your doing now?"

Everest sobbed and the gun was still on the kid. She straightened her sights and Chase held his gun higher. He was lined up with her head. She was so frozen up that she didn't know what to do anymore. She didn't even know what she wanted. Part of her wanted the kill the kid and avenge Marshall. The other part spoke sense into her telling her that she had to be who Marshall knew her to be, even if he was gone. She closed her eyes. She had to be a soldier...and move in. Chase waited for her to answer.

"H-his name...was Marshall Benton. He-he had a sister and a brother. His mother left him with his sister when his father turned. He abused him before he enlisted in the army. He was a good man who saved many lives and always forgot to save his own. He was a shot I wish I could take back." Alban finally broke as he cried. He looked up at her and Everest returned the stair as he begged for his life.

Everest looked at Chase who was still waiting. She looked at Ty and Rocky who watched in disbelief of what was happening. But she could tell they were routing for her to do the right thing. She looked at her gun and then at Alban once more. It was a tense five second before her gun dropped. Then she dropped to her knees. She sobbed and looked back at Alban. "I hate you."

Alban took breaths of relief and laid back. He sniffed a few times before asking, "yYou loved him, didn't you?"

She didn't answer. She didn't have to.

"I'm so sorry." He cried and wiped his eyes with his palms.

"You will be." Everest took her cuffs and bound him then dragged him to his feet. Chase had long put his gun down. As she passed him up, he gave her a curt nod.

"We've got him," Ty assure her. A caring touch to her shoulder assured her he had found some respect for her. She nodded and let go. Ty and Rocky exited the scene with Alban leaving Chase and Everest alone. Chase approached, holstering his gun.

"I'm really sorry about that. I promise, it won't happen again." He sighed.

"You promise?" Everest Asked. "I'm disappointed in you Chase. How many people like me do you I trend to survive if you keep that promise?" With that, she walked away. Chase stood there unsure of what to make if what she said. Chase closed his eyes and looked up. "Thank you."

X X X

Everest leaned against the car door of Radar's van. She stared off into distance. Once in a while she would make eye contact with a team member. She just couldn't understand it. How could they smile at her. She had expected to be shunned if not doubted...but instead, they trusted her more.

"Proud of you, girl. Keep kicking ass, okay?" Radar said passing her up.

Everest gave him a full smile, "Thanks Radar."

"Don't mention it. Listen, you need anything, let me know. Ah heck, let all of us know. We won't turn you away." It was the first time Everest could find to genially thank Radar. The first time he would ever say something meaningful to her. It was a much needed change.

"Thank you, Radar. I mean it...thank you." She still gave him a weak smile, but it was more than enough for the geek to decide to return to his geeky business.

"Don't mention it, times two. That's what we do, we're a team." Radar left.

Chase was just passing by when Everest suddenly stopped him. "Thank you."

Chase turned. "Was that for me?"

"Yeah," she leaned forward off the van and approached Chase, "I know I wasn't myself over there so... thanks... for reminding me who I am."

Chase looked down and back up with a smile, "Ah, Skye would kill me if I didn't. And Marshall would too if he wasn't going to haunt me at night."

Everest laughed. He looked at Ryder who gave him a nod. "I believe I promised you something. How about we go to the hospital? I think Skye said the surgery was almost done. We should arrive just in time for the visit."

"I would like that." She smiled.

Chase nodded and got an SUV. They drove to the hospital in silence then made there way to Zuma and Skye.

"Well?" Everest Asked.

Skye smiled, "He's okay. He'll make it."

Everest sighed in relief and sat down on one of the chairs. "Thank God."

"Yeah, it takes more than that to kill our man, Marshall." Zuma chuckled, "They're about to open the doors. Why don't you go in first?"

The doors opened right on que. "Sir, ma'am, you can come visit now, he's asleep because of anesthesia but he'll come around soon." Said a surgical technician.

Everest looked at them for permission. Each of them nodded. She entered the room alone and found Marshall breathing steadily. The monitor beeped slowly. He was fast asleep and blankets covered him.

"How is he?" She asked.

"He's suffered two gunshot wounds. The exits were the worst but he's going to be fine. We sealed him up and did what we could to repair his Lungs, but he should be able to recover normally after some time."

"Will he be able to...come back to service?"

The surgical tech sucked in thought on the question, "There's no knowing right now. It's different every time."

Everest sat in a chair next to Marshall and slowly went for his hand. She stroked his hairline, moving some stray hairs out of his face. His head moved slightly. She grinned as she watched him sleep. He looked so...precious. "I'm here now, Marshall. Wake up soon."

Zuma watched the whole thing. He turned towards Chase and pointed and him and Skye. Chase rolled his eyes and Skye giggled which was more than enough for Zuma. He pumped his fist cheering quietly, "Called it."

"Shut up, Zuma."

X X X X

And so it begins.

PS: see also Alpha Team Chronicles!


	13. Chapter 13: Logistics: Part 1

So, I realized I was supposed to get this stuff out earlier but…then smash ultimate came out. So, I cut this into parts so that I could have SOMETHING out. Part 2 is coming out really soon. It's almost done. Sorry it isn't a Christmas special, but that's what I get for slacking on the job, I suppose.

X X X X

Part 1: Logistics Rotation

Marshall took in the next bite of the meal Everest was feeding him. He chewed swallowed and gave her look of satisfaction. "Yeah, that's pretty good."

"Good, I'm glad you like it," She smiled, "Made it myself. Figured you could use a steak instead of what they were feeding you. You know, jello and stuff."

Marshall laughed at her. "What do you think this is? Gray's Anatomy? They don't serve just jello over here. I've been getting actual food here. Under seasoned, maybe, but it wasn't jello."

Everest shrugged. "Whatever. The point is my food is better." She speared another bite to feed him.

"Hooah, whole lot a hooah." Marshall opened his mouth for next feeding. "You know I could do this myself, right? Two working hands." He lifted his hands and shook them to prove his point.

"Yeah, I know, but it's more fun this way, right?" She smiled at him and waited for an answer. All she got was a sigh. "Okay, here you go." She put the fork in the Tupperware and lifted her hands.

"Not to say I wasn't grateful," Marshall added before taking it, "Just felt awkward is all. You know?"

Everest put an offended hand to her chest. She added some sarcasm to her voice as to encourage laughter from him. "Awkward that the love of your life wants to feed you?"

Marshall thought it over. "Uh...Yeah. Yeah, it is."

Everest put her hands to her sides, "Oh, really? Well, fine then, I shan't cook another meal if that's how it is."

Marshall chuckled and put the fork down. "Okay, Okay. I'm sorry. Will you forgive me?"

Everest turned her back. He chuckled again and looked down at the food. What could he say to satisfy her? He knew her well enough that it only took some worship here and some romantics in the concoction to give her tribute enough for her favor. He just needed to arrange them right. "I'm sorry, my beloved Adeline, I was wrong to insult you. Forgive your sinning lover and bestow your love upon him once more." He bent his head humbly and held out a hand only to wince and try again at another angle.

She turned back around and crossed her arms. "Don't call me Adeline."

Marshall sat back up and looked at her. "Why not?"

She sat next to him, hugged him close, and blessed his forehead with a kiss, "Because it makes me think your sad."

Marshall chuckled. "Well I was sad. The love of my life was mad at me... And she said she wouldn't cook for me anymore."

Everest laughed with him but her laugh was short lived. "Really though, I don't want you to use it. The last time you called me that..." She gripped him and started stroking his hair.

"That was the day I remembered you, Eva. At Mr. Porters." She remembered the day only slimly. It was a rough day of calls and Everest's first day of duty.

"You called me by my full name. She could recall it better than him to be frank. "You said you loved me."

"You mean you don't hear me say it enough?" Marshall leaned into her chest.

"No... I don't hear you say it like that. At least...not frequently." Everest positioned herself to be as best of a pillow for his head as she could make humanly possible. Though some would think it wasn't very hard for her.

"Well then." Marshall smiled and kissed her cheek. "I love you, Eva."

She hummed with satisfaction. Just then Ryder had nocked and walked in. "Sorry for barging in; I figured you two wouldn't be too comfortable, so..." he gave them a smile and leaned on the foot of the bed. "How's he doing?"

Everest smiled and sighed pretending to cry, "He's bound to die."

Ryder clicked his tongue, "Damn. Well, Marshall, you were a good doc. Hate to lose you."

Marshall sighed. "The doctor said I should make a full recovery. Just a bit more time to be sure and it's back home for me."

Ryder smiled and nodded, "Oh, okay, forget what I said then. And how about the 'we'? You two doing alright?"

Everest's head landed on Marshall's. "Yeah, we'll be just fine. It's nice that we don't need to be all secret agent type now. It feels so much more...free."

"I'm glad," Ryder said taking a seat. "Oh, Radar wanted me to tell you this. He said he shipped the two of you the day you first joined, Everest. No idea what that means but I think he meant to say he approves. That goes for everyone else. Funny thing, we knew pretty well about Chase and Skye but you two caught me a bit off guard. Then again, I felt like I knew about it. Apparently, Katie was saying she called it. Said it was really obvious because of your pheromones, Everest."

Everest rolled her eyes. "She's beginning to sound like you."

Ryder shrugged, "Well, she does have the eyes and nose of a fox doesn't she? She could be a successful politician if she wasn't a lawyer and secretary."

"I'd vote for her." Marshall raised his hand as he bit into his food. "She's got some real leadership skills. She knew how to talk to the judges. I don't see how she couldn't talk to a few more government leaders."

"Yeah," Ryder nodded. There was some silence. Ryder inhaled sharply and pat his legs, "Well, I'm glad to see you alive and well. Good luck on your recovery, Marshall. See you at work, Everest. By the way, others are coming to see you, Marshall. Including some... family. T minus three minutes, and the girl in the wheelchair looks furious."

"Oh lord," Marshall sighed, "It's Maria, I know it is. She sees me like this and catches wind about what happened last week..."

"I'll stay with you if you feel safer," Everest teased.

Marshall laughed and pressed her forehead with hers. "No, I'll be alright. Don't be late for accountability. You're needed out there."

"I don't want to go yet." She sighed.

"I know, but work takes priority. Love you, Eva." He kissed her cheek.

"I love you too. Good luck with your sister," Everest kissed his cheek and grabbed her backpack. "Finish your steak, it's getting cold."

Marshall smiled and started eating at the leftover cold meat. Then a wheelchair started rolling in. "Marshall Adam Benton!"

"Good morning, Maria," he greeted with extra enthusiasm.

The smile didn't make her any less angry. Her husband and her two little girls stood outside. Marshall tried to wave at them, but Maria slammed the door. "You... son of a bitch! How did this happen?"

"Well, you see, I was behind a car door and I..."

"Shut up!" Maria started crying, "Do you know that you could have died! Mom was worried about you! I was worried about you! When news got to us that you'd been shot we thought that..." she wiped her eyes and started crying. "Don't you ever get tired of being so close to the ledge?"

Marshall looked down a bit guilt ridden. He knew how much Maria loved him. She came all the way from New York just to make sure he was okay. That was a long plane ride as well as a big chunk of money gone. Tickets to Adventure Bay were like trying to go to Japan in a first-class cruise. "Maria, I'm sorry. I made a mistake and..."

"A mistake? You could have died!" She grabbed his bedsheets and planted her head on his lap, getting close was hard since she was stuck in a wheelchair the rest of her life. Marshall sighed and stroked her head.

"Maria, I'm right here, I'm not gone yet, Probably not for another sixty years."

"I'd rather have more," she sniffed decomposing by the second. Just like they were still children. "And now my makeup is ruined thanks to you."

Marshall chuckled. Typical Maria to blame him for everything. It's how he knew she was trying to crack a joke. "You look fine." He grabbed some tissues so she could clean up. "Now, how about you clean up and let the girls in. I'd like to see them."

Maria cleaned herself up and nodded. Shortly after, she let the girls in along with their father to greet him and wish him well.

X

Everest scanned her badge to get inside the HQ to be greeted with another one of Radar's tantrums. "So, I was talking with one of my Spanish buddies and was all like, 'Dude, what is the difference between you and the Mexicans. I mean, I can't tell the difference.' And he was like, 'Oh don't worry 'bout it homi you'll learn some day.' Can anyone here tell me why I can't tell the difference?"

"You really want to know why Radar?" Everest smirked putting her things down on a chair and leaning on it, "You're racist."

Radar put on an exaggerated frown as to mimic the grumpy cat and shot back, "I can't be racist, I'm...colorblind."

There was a stop on all activities in the room. A roar of laughter followed.

"Colorblind? Radar, that's the best excuse you've made thus far," Rocky said as he sighed.

Radar shrugged and turned back to Everest. "So, how's the docs treatin' the doc? Doc going back to docin' soon?"

"He's Fine," Everest smiled. "How about Chase and Skye?"

"Eh, they could be worse. They could be facing the inspectors right now but...eh, what they don't know don't hurt 'em. They've just been advised by the boss to keep the PDA to down-low, y'know? Goes for you when doc comes home."

"Hah hah." Everest rolled her eyes. She stared at Chase and Skye who was sharing a cup of coffee with Ty, Kaiser, Rubble, Rocky, and Zuma.

Ryder came from behind and tapped her shoulder, "Morning, Everest. Anything, Radar?"

"Naw. We're pretty quiet today," Radar replied.

"Good to hear," Ryder nodded. "So, any hangings after I left?"

Everest shook her head. "No, I didn't stay that much longer than you did. He was fine. I have yet to find out what his sister does to him. I'll try and give him a call if possible. He's probably bored watching television. Same old news than before."

"I know, let's get him a Nintendo Switch," Radar hyped in.

Ryder and Everest stared. The comment was left unaddressed. "So, he'll be back on his feet soon. I do have to warn you..."

"Radar's made it clear. He may be a geeky egghead, but he's still got some brain in him."

"Love you too, Everest," he sighed.

Everest pat her chest and pointed at him. "Anyway, deal is I'm going to work and he's going to sleep. Not to gross you out, but this will be the first time in months I sleep alone."

Radar shuttered, "Too late, you did it."

Everest sighed and slammed the counter, "Radar, just because you don't get some every now and then doesn't mean it has to gross you out. Get a girlfriend and explore the world of human life."

"I have a girlfriend! Her name is Brie. She lives in San Diego and she's got hot freckles and beautiful braces that she'll lose next month. She's Asian too."

"Score. Go to San Diego and..." Everest paused and arched her eyebrows at Radar. "She has braces still?"

Radar nodded proudly, "Yes, and she was very brave getting them. She's afraid of dentists and orthodontists. I don't see why that should be the only thing out of the plethora of things I have given you to stand out. But if that intrigues you then I will not judge you. It is a safe space."

Everest shook her head, puzzled by this. "That's not...I just...I want to know why she still has braces. When did she even get them? And you judge me on everything else."

"Last year. And I do not. Not in safe spaces."

"How old is she?"

"Twenty-two and she's so beautiful she still looks seventeen."

"Have you seen her face to face?"

"On many occasions." Radar leaned back, "As such, I believe I reserve my right as to shutter at your sex talking."

"You know what? Fuck you." Everest grabbed her bags and went to go change.

"Still love you!" Radar smiled turning in his office chair and waving like the queen of England.

Ryder shook his head, "That'll do, Radar, that'll do."

"Yes, Boss," He said typing away. His computer pinged. "Lovely."

"What do we got?" Ryder asked.

"We're on logistics today, we got shipments of stuff. You know, paper for copiers, new computer screens, that sort of thing. We get to open boxes and sort it all out."

"That was not my idea of a good day," Ryder sighed. "I'd rather go on call."

"We all would Boss but the world doesn't care what we want it cares what it wants and today, it wants printing paper, coffee, and the latest tech. Boys! We're heading to the warehouse!" A groan of disappointment rang through the room.

"Fuck that," Rocky groaned. "How do they pick us out for this shit?"

Radar made his way out from behind his desk replying, "Same way the government does it, brother. They reach up their ass and see what they pull out."

"So, we're shits now?" Rubble asked pressing the elevator button.

Radar raised his hands, "Don't look at me. You guys are the ones who crawled up their ass when you enlisted." The team shared a laugh.

Chase pat his back and stepped into the elevator with everyone else. "Very funny, Radar."

"I never enlisted," Kaiser raised his hand.

Ty scoffed. "Letting the govies sweet talk you into becoming an Operator is just about the same thing."

"Yeah? Well why did you come in? I wanted to make a difference in the world that consisted with more than just responding to disaster." Kaiser crossed his arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator as it went down.

"I was already in the military," Ty replied, "and unlike everyone here I was flushing the government's shit for them while they sat in their offices and talked about how they were going to improve the toilet to flush shit better."

Ryder raised his eyebrows. "Really? So how did that go?"

"Turns out they didn't like that," Ty chuckled. "You see, the government has two buttons on their toilets. The piss flusher and the shit flusher. Shit flusher takes more water, right? Well, every time I found shit or piss in that thing, I pushed the shit flusher every time and they complained about the water bill. I made a good job of being their when they weren't but one day, I had an off day. So, they gave me a choice. Flush shit their way, using the right button for the right waist, or get flushed down with the shit. Obviously, I'm here."

"Any regrets?" Skye asked.

"None whatsoever," Ty grinned. "I'd do it all over again if I could. Maybe not get caught next time."

"Hooah," Chase chuckled.

The elevator reached the warehouse floor and Ryder did a quick check over. "Ey, were missing someone and it's not Marshall."

"Did we get Everest?" Zuma asked.

"No, we didn't." Ryder tapped Skye, "Get Everest real quick, would you?"

"On it, Boss," She replied going back in the elevator.

Ryder and the rest of the team reported to Katie who was currently wearing a hard helmet and talking with a worker. "Oh, here we go. Here's you're help, Tony."

"Morning," Ryder greeted shaking Tony's hand.

"Morning, thanks for coming, Alpha. Alright so there's some boxes over there we're taking in, and over there and I got another load of ammunition also coming in. We'll inventory that and pass it out to the teams."

"You got the .308s right?" Ty asked with a pleading look.

"We got everything you boys a gals could possibly use." Tony smirked.

"Yes." Ty balled his fist and pumped it a few times.

Katie gave him the clipboard she was holding. "Well, if this isn't enough hands let me know. Take care of them, Tony."

"Yes, ma'am," Tony nodded. "Oh! Wait a hot minute, I gotta get something for you to sign. Be right back."

He disappeared around the corner and Katie looked around moving closer to Ryder. "Can anyone see anybody around?" The team looked around and shook their heads. "Great!" She first pulled Ruder into a quick kiss. "Sorry, no contact for too long so I had to get that out of my system. Back to business. So, how's Marshall? Is he okay?"

Ryder gave an assuring smile. "Yeah, he'll make a full recovery and should get back to duty."

Katie smiled as well, "Oh good, I'm happy for you guys. Fun fact, he's the only paramedic in the PAWS so losing him will be like losing a mega millions ticket in California. But since he's okay we don't have to worry about that. Next thing, after logistics, I need to talk to you guys about tomorrow. There're some children, about, like...I think fifth to sixth graders coming in and field tripping over here. I took the liberty of volunteering you guys. Sorry not sorry."

"Great, love kids," Chase smiled.

"I don't." Ty grumbled

Kaiser pat his back, "Don't worry, Ty, you might actually get a compliment about your scar."

"You know how I got this scar?" Ty glared pointing at his scar in his right eye.

"Okay, Joker, happy thoughts," Radar interrupted. "Katie, we are absolutely honored. Keeps us from working, right guys?"

"I got Everest!" Skye called.

Everest caught up. "What did we miss?"

"Kids are coming tomorrow to see what we do." Zuma replies. "Anything else, Katie?"

"Plenty," Katie replied, "Halloween party just a few weeks away! Yippee. Bring friends and family. Going as a witch this time, you guys?"

"Later, what else?" Ryder asked.

"Um... not sure there is anything important. I'll let you know if that changes. So, costumes costumes, what are you guys doing?"

"Probably something generic," Rubble replied, "I don't thing dressing up is everyone's thing, but I know my wife will kill me if I don't. Probably just a construction man. I don't want to think too hard."

Kaiser chuckled and added, "She'll probably kill you for that too. But maybe if I just dress in my old gear it'll be fine so I'm doing that."

"Nice," Katie nodded, "How about you guys? Rocky?"

"Oh, uh. Rosita says I should go as a Viking or something. Seriously though, Rubble is right, I'm not keen on the dress up stuff."

Ty shook his head, "No one is. He's absolutely right."

Rubble motioned at the two of them, "Told you Katie."

"Oh come one, boys, get creative! Do something like you're young still! All of you guys have at least dates, talk it over! Ryder, you being a knight, no ands, ifs, buts about it." She pointed.

"Well, I guess I'm being a knight," Ryder scratched his head.

"Found it," Tony said coming around the corner. He shook the binder and gave it to Katie. "Just right here and there and That's all."

Katie signed it quickly and gave him back the binder. "Alright, If that's all then I'll return upside and leave you fellows to it."

"Yes, ma'am thank you very much," Tony lifted and dropped his hard hat. "Alright, let's get started." Tony clapped his hands and began to direct alpha team at the beginning of a long logistics rotation.

X X X

Ty stood there for a good five minutes before finally shouting "What the hell am I holding, Zuma?"

"Let's see what the list says," Zuma replied looking at the list and adding another box on Ty's arms. "Uh, flash bangs, some rubber bullets… ooh I think you're also holding the new batons."

"Batons?" Ty asked dropping the three boxes on his foot.

"Agh! Dude, the foot!" Zuma started hopping around and tripped behind the ramp of the truck.

Ty cut the box open and laughed at what he found. "Hell yeah, I was wondering when we'd get these little bastards right here." He took one and extended it.

"Oh crap! No way!" Rocky said as he dropped his boxes of ammo. "We got batons now? No more night sticks? Let me see one!" Ty handed him one and they started to mess with them. "Awesome! Look at this shit! Kaiser! Come one, man!"

Kaiser trotted over just in time for Zuma to be crawling back up on the concrete floor of the warehouse. "Thanks for nothing, Ty."

"You are welcome. Here, let me make it up to you, catch." Ty threw him a baton.

Zuma caught the little device and extended it. "Aw dude, no way. I was wondering when we'd get these! We've been using these stupid night sticks for so long!"

Chase was next. "Guys why are you...oh hell yeah! We got batons now?"

"Damn straight!" Ty smiled tapping Rocky with one. They got in a little baton fight as Chase put a hand out to see Kaiser's.

"Damn, these are nice." Chase examined the baton with a smile.

"What is going on here?" Ryder crossed his arms as he saw a box open. "Guys, were supposed to...wait, are those our new batons?"

"Yeah, Boss, look," Kaiser smiled throwing him one. Ryder smiled at the little thing then extended it. "That's what I'm talking about. Okay, put it back. And put these batons back too. We got work to do, let's go!"

They heard a loud humming move towards them. Rubble came around the corner with a fork lift and a big smile. "Here comes Rubble in the double. Alright, boys, set the boxes here and we can move this shit twice as fast!"

"Hooah, Rubble, that's what I'm talking about," Rocky pointed. The guys started to load the boxes on the pallet held by the forklift.

By the time it was too full for more boxes Ty hopped on. "Alright, take us to the dismount."

"Oscar Mike," Rubble turned the forklift over and a few more of the guys hopped on just high enough to not touch the ground. Once they arrived, they started unloading the boxes near Skye, Everest, and Radar for sorting and putting away for distribution.

"Thanks, boys," Skye tapped Kaiser's shoulder and started towards Chase. "Especially you, big boy." She clicked her tongue and winked.

"I aim to please," he smirked.

"Ugh, not in public, please," Everest sighed, rolling her eyes, "especially when Marshall isn't here."

"How about period?" Radar asked, "I am slightly disturbed with your PDA here."

"Radar! I didn't even touch him," Skye sighed.

Radar smacked his mouth and sighed. "Skye, on the contrary, you are molesting him with your mind."

Howls of laughter filled the warehouse. Ryder took control before anything turned into an argument. "Alright, lock it in, you guys. Radar does have a point though. Skye, Chase, try not to say or do anything around here. Anywhere. Everest, when Marshall comes back, same goes for you. This team is on its lifeline right now. One secret gets out they start investigations, they bombard us with questions, and Everest might get the slip. We put that behind us, but they won't."

"Hooah," Everest nodded in agreement. "You have my word, Boss."

"That's all I ask." Ryder nodded. "Okay, back to work. Ladies, plus Radar, get this stuff where it needs to be. "Men, get your backs into it."

"Support the fight, Hooah!" Shouted Rocky.

Ryder formed a knife hand and pointed at Rocky, "That's what I'm talking about, Rocky. Motivation."

"You know what really motivates me?" Chase asked.

"You mean Skye's ass?" Rubble asked with a grin.

"Hah, very funny." Chase shook his head and sighed. "No. Music. Get some speakers, play some Queen, and you get some hella motivation from that."

"Hell yeah," Rocky nodded, "But I think The Score would be a little more relevant here."

"Naw man, that's workout music," Chase shook his head.

"What about Imagine Dragons, dude?" Zuma put up his arms in a shrug, "They're pretty moto."

"Yeah, that's I-wake-up-in-the-morning-feeling-like-P-Diddy-music, man, you put that on when you gotta long-ass ride to go and need something to kick off day."

"Yeah, I'm with Chase in that one," Rubble said pointing at Chase. " But the Kesha's got no place here. Ey, How about Toto?"

"No, that's nostalgia, music, that's what you play when you're with old guys like president Winters." Kaiser shook his head.

"No less than Queen," Said Rubble. "Nostalgia is a type of motivation."

Ty scoffed and added smartly, "If your Radar. SOB runs off of that shit. He drinks it like coffee."

"Ey, Ryder what about you?" Asked Rocky.

They dismounted, and Ryder chuckled a little before replying, "You know motivation if you know Guns and Roses and Red Hot Chili Peppers."

"Oh, dude, now he's playing _that_ game!" Clapped Zuma. "Dude, back in the day and even now those guys are where it's at."

"I don't like 'em," Chase shook his head.

"Whoah!" The whole group started shouting and shading Chase.

"Okay, who's mans is this?" Rocky asked pointing at Chase with a knife hand.

Rubble messed with Chase's hair as he passed him up. "Yeah who let this guy in?" They began unloading boxes in a chain motion stacking them on the pallet of the forklift.

"I let myself in, thanks, and I'm Skye's mans. You don't like it, shut up and lift some boxes before I bop you one upside the head."

"Ooh, someone is triggered." Rubble snickered and caught a box from Ryder. "Here, catch, snowflake."

Chase caught it and gave him a disapproving look. He shook his head slowly and handed his box to Rocky who stacked it onto the pallet. He said nothing to Rubble. The guys talked about various things as they loaded the pallet. The girls on the other hand had started talking about their relationships to Radar's displeasure.

Radar had buried his head in an empty cardboard box and growled a long, exasperated growl. "God, kill me now!"

"Radar, you should know better than to get stuck with the girls on a logistics day, this is about all we talk about." Everest glared. "Like I was saying, Marshall and I have really considered taking another step forward in the relationship."

"You mean you didn't reach third base yet?" Radar Asked.

"Radar, shut up," Everest rolled her eyes. "I mean, we are practically living together and we're both...kinda Christian so..."

"Wa-wa-wait, you guys are Christian, and you fornicate?" Radar asked. "You guys are weird. What kinda Christian are you guys? Catholic?"

Skye laughed and shook her head. "Radar, don't be rude. I'm sure God has more important things to do than condemn people who love each other. But I'm curious what denomination you are. See, my Aunt Nana was Nazarene so I kinda picked that up when I was fifteen or so."

"I'm Southern Baptist. Same reason. Mom and dad so why not me? Radar, give me back my Exacto knife! That's the only good one!"

"Snooze you lose, Everest." Radar grinned widely as he extended the knife, cut the tape of the empty cardboard boxes, and flatten them.

Everest sighed and had half a mind to take it from him. After careful consideration she decided against it. After all, they'd probably get hurt.

"Next round!" Rubble pulled in with the rest of the boxes. "Aw gee, what have you ladies been doing, you're barely done with the last set we brought over."

"Patients, Rubble, these boxes are packed!" Skye said as she opened her arms, motioning at the huge boxes of supplies.

"Yeah, why don't you get off you grown up toy and give us a hand?" Everest jested.

"Ohh whoo, grown up toy." Rocky laughed.

"Ey, she can hear you, Everest, watch your mouth!" Rubble scolded as he pet the forklift. "She's a sensitive beast."

"Like your wife?" Ty asked opening a box.

A loud "oh" sounded through the warehouse. As soon as the laughter settles Rubble shook his head and said, "You two keep laughing. One day you're gonna wish you had one of her sisters while you're moving stuff around. These babies save hours of time in a day. I know, believe me, I worked construction."

"We know, you were a combat engineer, right?" Zuma smiled.

Rubble nodded, "Yeah, I did the build 'em up stuff. You know, making bridges and all that. I didn't see too much combat."

"That so?" Skye crossed her arms. "I thought you had a sapper tag."

"No, that's me, Skye," Rocky said as he picked a box up. "I blew stuff up." He put the box down and exhaled. "But, I don't blame you for getting us mixed up."

"Yeah, like... Rubble, Rocky; engineer, engineer; build 'em up, tear 'em down. I mean they are practically the same guy." Chase chuckled.

"Ha ha, very funny." Rocky shook his head. "Your just jealous because you missed out in the best MOS in the army, sucker. Right Rubble?"

Rubble beat his chest and made a peace sign then continued to work. Rocky shrugged and smirked at Chase, leaning back against a beam.

Chase sputtered. "Like hell. Uh, who made Delta again?" Chase cupped his ear to hear the obviously only correct answer.

"Marshall, right?" Ryder answered with a grin.

Chase dropped his arm. "Who else?" His arm urged them to keep naming.

"Well who made seal team six?" Ryder asked.

Snickers were shared. Chase sighed. "I hate you too, Boss."

Ryder chuckled and approached him. "You hate me huh? Huh? Get at attention when I'm talking to you, maggot!"

Chase got to attention as said, "Yes, sir, petty Chief,"

"It's chief petty officer to you, maggot! And I'm not a sir!" They laughed, and Chase got out of attention getting back to the boxes. "What? You think your such an on-spot operator? What's the PAWS core attributes?"

Chase dropped his box and went to attention, "Sir, the PAWS core attributes are...loyalty, courage, commitment, and teamwork, sir!"

"Ooh, very good," Everest chuckled, "I actually forgot them for just a moment there."

Radar's jaw dropped. Ryder looked surprised. Skye pointed at her with a knife hand. "What is wrong with you, guy?"

"Yeah, like, how do you forget those?" Kaiser laughed.

"Shut up, Kaiser, I said only for a moment. I would have remembered, jeez."

"Yeah?" Radar crossed his arms. "What's our motto?"

Everest pauses. She bit her lips and pointed at Radar with a knife hand, "Shut up, it's morning and I haven't had coffee yet."

"It's always the coffee, why do people blame the coffee? What has coffee done to you?" Radar glared, awaiting his answers.

"Naw, man, that's legit," Ty pointed at Everest. "Back in the day, when my dad drank coffee. He couldn't remember a damn a thing without it. He needed his morning coffee, man."

"And the fact it's in Latin has...nothing to do with it?" Radar tapped his foot.

"It's in Latin?" Kaiser asked. "I thought the motto was 'We finish the fight.'"

Chase snickered and shook his head, "No, Kaiser, it's not. that's Alpha Team's motto. OUR motto, not the PAWS's motto. And that's in Latin too. _Nos pugna consummare_."

"Ooh, that was sexy," Skye smiled.

Chase winked and clicked his tongue. "The Protect and Watch Service motto is _Semper in omni Tempore_."

"Ooh, very sexy. I'm getting chills," Skye grinned, "What else you got?"

"Later, Skye," Chase chuckled,

"God, I don't know how you learned to say all that so fast or even remember it." Everest shook her head.

"Neither do I," Kaiser shook his head. "I can speak Spanish but not much else."

"You get used to it," Chase shrugged. "But the real question is if you can translate it."

Radar raised his hand. Chase snickered at him causing Everest to look back. "Of course you do, you nerd!"

Radar grinned real big. "Thank you. It's 'At all times, on all occasions.' Because that's what we do, guys. Hooah. And you can take that to the bank." Everest rolled her eyes again.

"Radar, well done, you earned an outstanding," Ryder clapped.

"Chyess!" Radar pumped his fist.

Tony came around the corner and greeted the team. "Well, that as everything. All we need to do is get the teams down here, so they can get their supplies then go on home. Thanks a lot, guys. I'll give the teams a call. That pallet is yours, I think, so if you guys want to get that up there and put everything away that'll be it for you."

The team acted excited and high fived each other then got to work, carrying everything they could from the pallet to their work space. Once they were finished, they returned to their homes to be ready for the next day.


End file.
